From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdiffidentdif‧fi‧dent /ˈdɪfɪdənt/ adjectiveSHYshy and not wanting to make people notice you or talk about youdiffident manner/smile/voice etcdiffident aboutHe was diffident about his own success. —diffidently adverb —diffidence noun [uncountable]Examples from the Corpusdiffident• The voice at the other end was light, gentle, diffident.• Joe was humble and diffident about his own success.• He seemed diffident, even shy.• Her formerclassmates say she was shy and diffident in school.• The Neanderthals seemed unexpectedly gentle and diffident people.• From being a painfully shy, diffidentrecluse, he suddenly metamorphosed into a garrulous and sometimes painfully overbearingextrovert.• Shaun became noticeably diffident when the conversation turned to the subject of his promotion.diffident manner/smile/voice etc• Despite a shy and diffident manner, Davison was a hard-working and giftedteacher of endlesspatience.Origindiffident(1400-1500)Latin present participle of diffidere"to distrust", from fidere"to trust"