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Meanings of diffidence in English

Catalan
inseguretat
Spanish
inseguridad

Lack of self-confidence.

inseguretat
Usage of diffidence in English
1
There was some diffidence in Leila's expression, but not a great deal.
The darkest road
2
She found it impossible to look her own diffidence in the face.
Ann Veronica: A Modern Love Story
3
Rosa and I shook hands in silence, and with a little diffidence.
The Ghost: A Modern Fantasy
4
I was given a chair, but we were all overcome with diffidence.
Between the Woods and the Water
5
But in his presence a wall of diffidence and timidity encompassed her.
The Ragged Edge
6
It is offered without diffidence, because it is offered in perfect modesty.
The Making Of A Novelist / An Experiment In Autobiography
7
I dropped into my natural self, a thing of shyness and diffidence.
Tell England / A Study in a Generation
8
Hester suggested, with diffidence, that they would look pretty in the drawing-room.
Red Pottage
9
His language was moderate; he bore himself reservedly, at moments with diffidence.
Denzil Quarrier
10
He walked slowly and with sad diffidence by the deserted stockade fence.
Openings in the Old Trail
11
He declined the honor, however, on account of diffidence and failing health.
The World's Best Orations, Vol. 1 (of 10)
12
It was terrible to feel so humble, so full of trembling diffidence.
December Love
13
There was a strange expression in his grey eyes, not unlike diffidence.
From the Housetops
14
Months since, with much doubt and diffidence, I began this simple story.
Driven Back to Eden
15
With much diffidence he replied: 'I speak only of my own feeling.
Heartsease; Or, The Brother's Wife
16
So were his manner and bearing, whereof all the diffidence had gone.
A Yellow God: An Idol of Africa
About this term
More collocations
Translations for diffidence
Diffidence through the time
Diffidence across language varieties
United Kingdom
Common