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Usenet Posted 18 years ago
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Diffidence and timidity

Can anyone explain the difference between diffidence and timidity? How are they different?
When I look in the The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language they look very simular to me.
Cheers,
Lars
  

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[nq:1]Can anyone explain the difference between diffidence and timidity? How are they different? When I look in the The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language they look very simular to me.

  • [nq:1]Can anyone explain the difference between diffidence and timidity?
  • How are they different?
  • When I look in the The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language they look very simular to me.
  • Cheers, Lars[/nq] I would say that diffidence is reluctance to be aggressive, the inclination to be the opposite, for the sake of not being seen as aggressive, for propriety and etiquette, or in recognition or belief that one is lower on the totem-pole than someone else.
  • Therefore, the diffident one doesn't interrupt and refrains from other things that might look assertive.
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3 Answers
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[nq:1]Can anyone explain the difference between diffidence and timidity? How are they different? When I look in the The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language they look very simular to me. Cheers, Lars[/nq]
I would say that diffidence is reluctance to be aggressive, the inclination to be the opposite, for the sake of not being seen as aggressive, for propriety and etiquette, or i
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[nq:1]Can anyone explain the difference between diffidence and timidity? How are they different? When I look in the The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language they look very simular to me.[/nq]
We are usually diffident to people that we instinctively feel are superior to us in some way, or to people we think deserve respect for their position. We might act diffidently around the
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[nq:1]Can anyone explain the difference between diffidence and timidity? How are they different? When I look in the The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language they look very simular to me.[/nq]
They are. Both have a more general meaning of "shy", but with different overtones. They come, respectively, from the latin words "to mistrust" and "to fear".
Strictly, someone who is d

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