underassertively

Adverb

underassertively (comparative more underassertively, superlative most underassertively)

1. In an underassertive manner.
   • Some of the most difficult situations for underassertive people involve requests and compliments: — making a request — refusing a request — giving a compliment — accepting a compliment. People who act underassertively may have difficulty asking others for what they want,1984, William N. Tindall, Robert S. Beardsley, Frederic R. Curtiss, Communication in pharmacy practice
   • Rather, like the medical institutions, and like many American parents around him, he was cautiously — "underassertively," he often says — feeling his way toward alternatives to the old-fashioned techniques.1996, The New Yorker - Volume 72, page 84