unconfident
- adjective
- /ʌnˈkɒnfɪdənt/
- Many students feel unconfident when speaking in front of the class.
- very unconfident
But if you see yourself as a slob, or if you say, oh, I'm a little chaotic, I'm a little bit slow, I'm a little unconfident, No, no, babe, you need a new identity.
- But if you see yourself as a slob, or if you say, oh, I'm a little chaotic, I'm a little bit slow, I'm a little unconfident, No, no, babe, you need a new identity.
- I feel confidently unconfident to have a boat both ways.
Examples
-
He moved his hands in a slow, unconfident circle, as though he were directing traffic and weren't particularly good at it.
Fiction book (1998) -
They actually resemble someone more defensive, self-conscious and unconfident.
-
Yet, at the very moment we have achieved the right to envision ourselves as a people, this hard-won right has been diluted, in my view, by a defensive, unconfident, almost sycophantic engagement with the international community.
Academic text (1996) -
She was unconfident about her ability to perform well in the competition.
-
After failing the test, he became increasingly unconfident about his academic skills.
Synonyms
Nervous and likely to avoid people or new situations
Not confident about yourself or your skills
Slow to act or speak because you feel unsure
Not feeling sure or confident
Feeling embarrassed and a little shy because of a mistake
Shy and not confident about speaking or acting in front of others
Easily afraid and not willing to take risks
Feeling nervous and lacking confidence in new situations
Not confident and acting unsure
Antonyms
How Confident
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word unconfident starts with un- meaning 'not' and the part confident, which comes from a root that means 'trust' and you can see the same idea in confide or the word 'faith'. So unconfident means 'not trusting' in yourself, which is why it describes someone who does not feel sure about their abilities.