diffident

«diffident» in Mova's school dictionary: Shy and not sure of yourself; not wanting to speak up or… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

adjective (diffident, more diffident, most diffident)

meaning for a pupil

Shy and not sure of yourself; not wanting to speak up or push yourself forward. tree →

sense in the lessons

Used in stories to describe a quiet, modest, unsure person. Mole is diffident at first with the grand Badger. In everyday life a diffident child might know the answer but not put a hand up.

examples

• The diffident boy rarely spoke in class. tree →
• Mole felt diffident in front of the great Badger. tree →
• She gave a diffident smile. tree →
• He was diffident about showing his drawing. tree →
• Don't be diffident — your idea is good! tree →
• The new girl was diffident on her first day. tree →
• In a diffident voice, he asked for help. tree →

note

Adjective; noun: diffidence. Opposite: confident (both come from Latin «to trust»; diffident = not trusting yourself). Don't confuse with «different».

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «diffident» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.