Both Uses of
diffident
in
Washington Square
- Her great indulgence of it was really the desire of a rather inarticulate nature to manifest itself; she sought to be eloquent in her garments, and to make up for her diffidence of speech by a fine frankness of costume.†
Chpt 3 *
- This life had, however, a secret history as well as a public one—if I may talk of the public history of a mature and diffident spinster for whom publicity had always a combination of terrors.†
Chpt 32
Definition:
-
(diffident) hesitant and unassertive -- often due to a lack of self-confidence