timidity

American  

[ti-mid-i-tee] / tɪˈmɪd ɪ ti /

Sometimes timidness

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.

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Other Word Forms

• overtimidity noun
• overtimidness noun
• untimidness noun

Etymology

Origin of timidity

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 linguistic timidity —our inability to name what’s happening — is itself a form of complicity, and the result of a combination of fear and fecklessness.

From Salon

Jane, whose timidity is evident in the way she only reluctantly takes off her winter coat, behaves as though she’s been abducted by an overly solicitous kidnapper.

From Los Angeles Times

More timidity to observe, more vulnerability in defence, more powder-puff stuff up front, more wide men running in ever decreasing circles.

From BBC

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

From Los Angeles Times

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.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• cowardice