diffidence

[ dif-i-duh ns ]

/ ˈdɪf ɪ dəns /

the quality or state of being diffident.

Origin of diffidence

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin diffīdentia mistrust, want of confidence. See diffident, -ence

non·dif·fi·dence, noun

She thought it was diffidence that made Andy Green hesitate perceptibly before he took it.

The Flying U's Last Stand |B. M. Bower
His host shook hands with him, and then leaned back in a chair, waiting for him to speak, which he did with a trace of diffidence.

The Greater Power |Harold Bindloss
Had he been taken with a fit of diffidence, and been less precipitate than he intended?

Hopes and Fears |Charlotte M. Yonge
"I am afraid in a measure it is," she replied, but with some diffidence.

The Childerbridge Mystery |Guy Boothby

Poor man, they mistook his reluctance for his diffidence, and forced him to wash it away in another potation.

Pelham, Complete |Edward Bulwer-Lytton