Word.ws English Dictionary

diffidently

UK/ˈdɪf.ɪ.dənt.li/

diffidently adverb: in a diffident manner; without confidence in oneself.

Adverb

diffidently (comparative more diffidently, superlative most diffidently)

  1. In a diffident manner; without confidence in oneself.
    • The author too keenly feels that he has no further claims than these, and he therefore most diffidently asks for his work the indulgence of his readers.1856, John Lothrop Motley, The Rise of the Dutch Republic, preface
    • The same evening John Rossitter wrote to the Bishop of Nawaub, and very humbly and diffidently offered himself, his young life, his health and his strength, his talents and energies, his younger son's portion, all that God had given him, for his Master's use;1883, Evelyn Whitaker, Miss Toosey's Mission, page 85

Synonyms of diffidently

All synonyms of diffidently

Forms of diffidently

comparativemore diffidently
superlativemost diffidently

Origin of diffidently

From diffident + -ly.

Questions about diffidently

What does diffidently mean?
Diffidently means in a diffident manner; without confidence in oneself.
What part of speech is diffidently?
Diffidently is an adverb.
How do you pronounce diffidently?
Diffidently is pronounced /ˈdɪf.ɪ.dənt.li/ (UK).

Words near diffidently in the dictionary

  1. diffidence
  2. diffidences
  3. diffidencies
  4. diffidency
  5. diffident
  6. diffidently
  7. diffidentness
  8. Diffie-Hellman
  9. diffine
  10. diffing
  11. diffinitive

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: diffidently (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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