Both Uses of
diffident
in
The Red Badge of Courage
- "Ma, I've enlisted," he had said to her diffidently.†
Chpt 1
- After a time he began to sidle near to the youth, and in a diffident way try to make him a friend.
Chpt 8 *diffident = hesitant and unassertive
Definition:
-
(diffident) hesitant and unassertive -- often due to a lack of self-confidence