Insecurity

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The condition of experiencing doubt about oneself or one's capabilities is often accompanied by feelings of anxiety or vulnerability to adverse situations
2. A psychological state marked by a lack of confidence in oneself and a pervasive worry about potential threats or harm from others or one's environment
3. A feeling of uncertainty and low self-confidence ; a situation where safety or stability is absent or threatened

Etymology: Insecurity comes from Medieval Latin "īnsēcūritās", a noun built from the Latin adjective "īnsecūrus", meaning "not careful" or "free from care," which joins the prefix "in-" (not) to "sēcūrus" (free from care, safe). Its literal sense is therefore "lack of safety" or "lack of freedom from anxiety," and the Latin root behind "secure" already carried that idea of being without worry. English took the word over directly from Medieval Latin, so it arrived with its original sense of being unsafe or unprotected. The modern meaning of inner self-doubt developed from that sense of lacking a firm footing, the feeling of not being steady or sure of oneself. The English adjective "insecure" was already in use before the noun, so the noun is best understood as the adjective turned into a state.

Synonyms: uncertainty, vulnerability, instability

Antonyms: security, confidence