diffidence

名词 n.
中文释义

英文释义

名词 n.
  1. The state of being diffident, timid or shy; reticence or self-effacement. countable,uncountable
    — Without scruple—without apology—without much apparent diffidence, Mr. Elton, the lover of Harriet, was professing himself her lover.
  2. Mistrust, distrust, lack of confidence in someone or something. countable,obsolete,uncountable
    — [Charles, King of France]: We have been guided by thee hitherto, And of thy cunning had no diffidence: One sudden foil shall never breed distrust.

词形变化

diffidences plural

词源

From Latin diffīdentiam (“distrust”), from diffīdere (“to mistrust”), from dis- and fīdere (“to trust”). Attested since ∼1400. The original sense was antonymous with confidence, and the modern sense of ‘distrusting oneself’ dates from the 1650s.
0 次浏览 数据来源: Wiktionary