Both Uses of
diffident
in
War and Peace
- Princess Mary seemed even quieter and more diffident than usual.†
Chpt 8 *
- These men, though enchanted with the sovereign for refusing the command of the army, yet blamed him for such excessive modesty, and only desired and insisted that their adored sovereign should abandon his diffidence and openly announce that he would place himself at the head of the army, gather round him a commander in chief's staff, and, consulting experienced theoreticians and practical men where necessary, would himself lead the troops, whose spirits would thereby be raised to theā¦†
Chpt 9
Definition:
-
(diffident) hesitant and unassertive -- often due to a lack of self-confidence