Word · Frequency #19312
diffident
缺乏自信的；羞怯的
lacking self-confidence; modest and shy because of a lack of self-confidence
常指因不自信而表现出的谦虚或羞怯
- 1.
Lacking self-confidence; timid; modest
缺乏自信；胆怯；谦虚。
- 2.
showing modest reserve
表现出谦逊的拘谨
- 3.
lacking self-confidence
缺乏自信
缺乏自信；胆怯；谦虚。；表现出谦逊的拘谨；缺乏自信；无自信的；谦虚谨慎的
In use
He was diffident about expressing his opinions in public.
Despite her diffident smile, she was actually quite talented.
He spoke in a diffident tone, rarely making eye contact.
she was diffident when offering a comment on the professor's lecture
stood in the doorway diffident and abashed
be diffident about sth
常见搭配，表示对某事不自信。
She was diffident about her ability to lead the team.
她对自己领导团队的能力缺乏自信。
be diffident in doing sth
表示在做某事时缺乏自信或羞怯。
Connections
Collocations
- diffident about
- 对……缺乏自信
- She was diffident about speaking in public.她对在公共场合发言缺乏自信。
- diffident manner
- 拘谨羞怯的态度
- He greeted us with a diffident manner.他拘谨羞怯地迎接了我们。
- diffident smile
- 腼腆的微笑
- She gave a diffident smile and looked down at the floor.她腼腆地笑了笑，低头看着地板。
- diffident voice
- 怯生生的语气
- He spoke in a diffident voice, barely audible.他说话带着怯生生的语气，几乎听不见。
- shy and diffident
- 腼腆又羞怯的
- The new student was shy and diffident at first.那名新生起初腼腆又羞怯。
Synonyms
Learner notes
Memory Tip
diffident像confident但多了一个dif；dif让你想到difficult，自信遇到困难就变得缺乏自信、羞怯。
Context & Register
语域：formal 常见场景：正式写作、文学描写 diffident 多用于正式或书面语境，常用来描述某人因缺乏自信而显得拘谨或谦逊。日常口语中更常见 shy 或 insecure。
Grammar Note
常与about连用，表示对某事缺乏自信
Pronunciation & Spelling
None of these are true rhymes with 'diffident' (/ˈdɪfɪdənt/). 'confident' shares the spelling -fident but has a different vowel; 'different' looks similar but is pronounced /ˈdɪfrənt/; 'evident', 'accident', 'incident' and 'resident' share only the unstressed final syllable /dənt/, and their stressed vowels or consonants differ.
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 1，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.