diffident
DIF-ih-duntadjMeaning shy and lacking confidence in oneself
Memory hook DIF-fident: the opposite of conFIDENT. Lin sings beautifully, but she hides behind the curtain and lets someone else take the solo. She is the opposite of confident: diffident.
The diffident new student spoke so softly that the teacher asked her to repeat her name.
In context Though she was the best singer in the choir, Lin was diffident about her talent and always asked someone else to take the solo.
Similar shy, timid, bashful, self-doubting
Opposite confident, self-assured, bold
From Latin diffidere, “to distrust”: dis (not) + fidere (to trust); a diffident person does not trust herself.