diffident
/ˈdɪfɪdənt/
"diffident" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“diffident” is an uncommon English word, ranked #84,168 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #84,168
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Lacking confidence in others; distrustful.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | diffident |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈdɪfɪdənt/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #84,168 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “diffident” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for diffident is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdɪfɪdənt/. Corpus data places it at rank #84,168 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for diffident, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin diffīdentem, present participle of diffīdere (“to mistrust”). Doublet of defiant. The correct English form is diffident, spelled D-I-F-F-I-D-E-N-T.
Definition
- 1Lacking confidence in others; distrustful.
- 2Lacking self-confidence; timid; modest
Etymology
From Latin diffīdentem, present participle of diffīdere (“to mistrust”). Doublet of defiant.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “diffident”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-I-F-F-I-D-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdɪfɪdənt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.