(a.) Wanting confidence in one's self; distrustful of one's own powers; not self-reliant; timid; modest; bashful; characterized by modest reserve.
Example Sentences:
(1) The Observer of the mid-1950s resembled nothing so much as a giant seminar conducted by the soft-spoken and diffident, yet steely, figure of David Astor.
(2) The main factor, however, is presumably not primness or diffidence but the chart's timeframe.
(3) Physically, he has a sort of wiry poise, often standing on the balls of his feet, but there is also something diffident, almost shyly polite, about him.
(4) In conversation, he is a curious mix of openness and a sweet, faintly diffident shyness.
(5) Diffident technically, she none the less doggedly pursued the detail of the execution of her scenery and costumes: she got what she needed.
(6) Wouldn't we rather our film writers be morally engaged viewers rather than diffident aesthetes?
(7) She too is a sceptic, but has been drawn to watch diffident Corbyn – potentially her future leader.
(8) His maiden speech came on his second day as an MP, in the debate on the address – intervening, he suggested improbably, with feelings of diffidence: "I am convinced that the key to all our hopes and aspirations in the field of economic activity lies in the maintenance and improvement of industrial relationships," he said.
(9) They were difficult because of the language barrier, which required exclusive use of interpreters, and because of the diffidence of the women themselves, especially in discussing matters of sex and childbearing.
(10) He is an odd, diffident sort of ambassador, spreading the message about "the Finnish miracle" but not really believing in the data that supposedly proves that it works.
(11) It stars Tom Hollander as a diffident, gaffe-prone British minister who is packed off to Washington DC, where he becomes a pawn in the political opposition to the war.
(12) And soon he was among them, grinning his diffident chipmunk smile, with his wife, a striking vision in white and red, beside him.
(13) A magnet for media coverage around the world thanks to his entrepreneurial success and love of a photo opportunity, Branson can be surprisingly diffident in person.
(14) He was too nervous – petrified before a big case, and diffident about his own abilities.
(15) At 43, he still looked boyish, with his questioning eyes, a thatch of hair and diffident mumbles.
(16) The media glamourised professional women who decided to have children while pursuing demanding careers, and warned women who put off having children that they would regret their diffidence later.
(17) Like Henry, whom Wenger signed as a diffident winger from Juventus in his early twenties in 1999, Welbeck has arrived at Arsenal after doing more running than scoring at Manchester United with the invitation to develop in a more favoured central attacking role.
(18) That diffidence is evident on screen, in Mia's core of vulnerability, the lonely anguish she camouflages with violence and filthy language.
(19) The man whose motto is a diffident "just messin' about" talks with unguarded passion about the process of music-making.
(20) In 1991, Gavin Millar filmed Call For The Dead's successor A Murder Of Quality, with Denholm Elliott as Smiley, his nervous diffidence dovetailing perfectly with the character.
Timorous
Definition:
(a.) Fearful of danger; timid; deficient in courage.
(a.) Indicating, or caused by, fear; as, timorous doubts.
Example Sentences:
(1) Disguised as "trainers", these lethal aircraft were used against the villages of East Timor.
(2) The epidemiology of Timor filariasis was observed during a clinical and parasitologic survey of persons living in a remote village on the island of Flores, Southeast Indonesia.
(3) Whistleblowers with dual citizenship who speak out on Australia’s national security – including those involved in allegations that Timor-Leste’s cabinet room was bugged – could face having their citizenship revoked under proposed laws.
(4) A spokeswoman for the AFP did not confirm the particular section of the referral, but said in a statement: “On 13 December 2013, the Australian federal police received a referral from the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation relating to an allegation a former Australian intelligence officer disclosed information relating to operational activity in Timor-Leste.
(5) In 50 per cent the gynaecologist was to timorous because of a length of more than 7 cm.
(6) Australia has made fresh promises limiting how it might use documents at the heart of a dispute with Timor-Leste , attempting to weaken the case for the international court of justice to order the sensitive material be surrendered.
(7) We must not allow ideological opposition to dams to hold back development.” Money will also be pumped into trade and tourism, as a way of attracting investment in the region, including $2.5m for fostering business links with Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.
(8) Daw Suu Kyi is the leader and is the one with the primary responsibility to lead, and lead with courage, humanity and compassion.” ‘It will blow up’: fears Myanmar's deadly crackdown on Muslims will spiral out of control Read more Nobel peace laureates who signed the letter include Jose Ramos-Horta , former president of East Timor, and Yemeni opposition activist Tawakul Karman .
(9) Impressed, one forgets that Australia has sustained continual military action since 1999, from East Timor to Afghanistan and Iraq.
(10) Voluntas vincendi maior timore perdendi” – “The will to win is greater than the fear of losing.” Anderlecht’s Steven Defour sees red over Standard Liège fans’ banner Read more This self-determination has proved vital.
(11) Collaery told the ABC he believed the key witness had been arrested in Canberra – the former intelligence official who had come forward as a whistleblower in the Timor case.
(12) We collect intelligence to save Australian lives, to save the lives of Australian people, to promote Australian values, to promote the universal decencies of humanity and to help our friends and neighbours, including Indonesia, and as I said our intelligence has been instrumental in defending many terrorist attacks in Indonesia and elsewhere.” Abbott’s comments come as a court case continues in the international court of justice in which East Timor has accused Australia of “unprecedented, improper and inexplicable” conduct after it raided the offices of a lawyer representing the country in a dispute over an oil and gas treaty.
(13) Timor-Leste has now initiated arbitration under article 23 of the Timor Sea treaty.
(14) Suharto gained his biggest reward for destroying the Indonesian left when he invaded East Timor in December 1975, only a day after the US president, Gerald Ford, and his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, had dined with him.
(15) Timor-Leste is reluctant to pursue the Indonesian military for its crimes, provable in part due to Australian eavesdropping, in the name of enhanced relations with its all-powerful neighbour in Jakarta.
(16) It does not amount to a waiver of the rights which Timor-Leste has under international law in respect to its property,” he said.
(17) The pair reached an agreement that should have brought unity to East Timor, which has suffered awful violence since Indonesia invaded in 1975.
(18) The veracity of the allegations, which relate to negotiations in the Timor-Leste capital Dili in 2004 and Canberra in 2005, is yet to be publicly proven.
(19) Timor-Leste says Australia has failed to provide an explanation for the allegations.
(20) In 1999 one of those involved in Australia’s Timor-Leste intelligence operations told me: “When they say it, we hear it.” And that included the militias’ plans to raze the province after the autonomy ballot.