diffident

Questions about diffident

What is another word for diffident?

It depends which diffident you mean. In the sense “lacking self-confidence”, the synonyms are shy, timid, unsure. Across all 2 senses there are 3 distinct synonyms, and they are not interchangeable with each other — this page lists them under the sense each one belongs to.

What is the opposite of diffident?

The recorded antonym is confident. Opposites are sense-specific too: this page shows which meaning each one is the opposite of, because a word rarely has a single opposite that holds for all of its senses.

Why are the synonyms for diffident split into groups?

Because diffident carries 2 recorded senses and each has its own set of substitutes. A single flat list would put words from unrelated meanings side by side with nothing to tell them apart, which is exactly how a writer picks the wrong one. The grouping comes from WordNet's synsets, not from an editorial judgement of ours.

Does this page cover every sense of diffident?

It covers the 1 sense that carries a synonym, antonym, broader or narrower term. The remaining 1 sense has none recorded, so it is left off a thesaurus page and shown in full on the word page instead.

Where do the synonyms for diffident come from?

From Princeton University's WordNet, a lexical database maintained by lexicographers since 1985. A synonym here means a word form that shares a synset with this word — a set of forms interchangeable in one recorded context. Nothing on this page is generated by a language model.

Other views of diffident

• Full entry for diffidentAll 2 senses, with examples, usage labels, syllables and pronunciation.
• Rhymes for diffidentWhether this word can be rhymed at all — it is not in the pronouncing dictionary.
• Thesaurus homeHow WordNet synsets work, and the collections built for synonym work.