Diffidences

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A state of hesitancy or lack of confidence in one's abilities or decisions
2. A feeling of self-doubt or uncertainty about expressing opinions or taking action
3. A psychological condition characterized by a reluctance to assert oneself or engage openly in social situations

Etymology: "Diffidences" is simply the plural of "diffidence," so it refers to several separate instances or kinds of that hesitancy. The plural is the form of that noun, and the noun itself has a striking history: its earliest sense was the opposite of its modern one. The word comes from Latin "diffidentia," meaning "distrust," from "diffidere," "to mistrust," built from "dis-" (apart, away) and "fidere" (to trust). Its earliest English use, around 1400, carried that outward-facing sense of distrusting other people, and it was set against confidence rather than shading into it. The meaning turned inward only in the 1650s, when "diffidence" began to describe distrust of oneself. That shift, from doubting others to doubting one's own abilities, produced the sense we use today.

Synonyms: hesitations, uncertainties, self-doubts, timidities, inhibitions

Antonyms: confidence, assurance, certainty, boldness, self-assurance