diffident
/ˈdɪfɪdənt/
"diffident" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“diffident” is uncommon English (frequency #84,168 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #84,168
- frequency rank, English
- 3,470
- “D” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Lacking confidence in others; distrustful.
Corpus desk
Index EN-diffident · diffident · English
diffident · rank #84,168 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #84,168
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,470
- PHOTO-FINISH diatom
Nearest frequency peer: diatom (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Long-tail ranks near “diffident”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- desultory
desultory
15,839 corpus weight
- diatom
diatom
15,834 corpus weight
- diffident
diffident
15,833 corpus weight
- Dimond
Dimond
15,829 corpus weight
- disequilibr…
disequilibrium
15,828 corpus weight
- disgraceful…
disgracefully
15,827 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “diffident” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| 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) |
Long-tail rank of “diffident” in English
Rare enough to double-check
diffident is uncommon English at frequency #84,168 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈdɪfɪdənt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
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
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how diffident appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Having therefore—but hold, as we are diffident of our own abilities, let us here invite a superior power to our assistance.
Emma is spoiled by being the cleverest of her family. At ten years old, she had the misfortune of being able to answer questions which puzzled her sister at seventeen. She was always quick and assured: Isabella slow and diffident.
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
How do you spell "diffident"?
What does "diffident" mean?
How do you pronounce "diffident"?
What is the origin of the word "diffident"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "diffident", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).