timidity

Sometimes tim·id·ness

[ti-mid-i-tee]

noun

1. the state or quality of lacking in self-assurance, courage, or bravery.

   The stakes are too high for the officials charged with making decisions to succumb to timidity and refuse to act.

Other Word Forms

• overtimidness noun
• overtimidity noun
• untimidness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of timidity¹

First recorded in 1510–20; from Latin timiditās, equivalent to timid(us) + -i- connecting vowel + -tās noun suffix; timid ( def. ), -i- ( def. ), -ty ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

That timidity angered two of the team’s main supporters groups, who canceled viewing parties, travel to road matches and other game-related events.

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This push and pull between wilderness and civilized life, or wildness versus timidity, has preoccupied Brown for the duration of his career, and it is what brought Brown to his robot.

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That approach displayed timidity, pessimism, defeatism, and lack of self-confidence, which is why Trump was clobbering Biden in the polls even prior to voters realizing the extent of Biden’s weakness during his debate with Trump.

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Most Democratic elected officials are behaving with stunning timidity, at the exact moment that the crisis facing American democracy demands strength and aggression.

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Holt became the team captain in the media’s game of feigned ignorance and real timidity.

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Related Words

• cowardice