Word that means not confident

INDEX:

1. confident

2. too confident

3. a confident feeling

4. to make someone feel more confident

5. not confident

6. to make someone feel less confident

RELATED WORDS

sure that something good will happen : ↑ SURE/NOT SURE

see also

↑ INDEPENDENT

↑ PROUD

↑ BRAVE/NOT BRAVE

↑ SHY

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1. confident

▷ confident /ˈkɒnfɪd ə nt, ˈkɒnfəd ə ntǁˈkɑːn-/ [adjective]

sure that you have the ability to do something well, and not worried about failing :

▪ It’s a difficult test, but she seems fairly confident.

▪ He gave his speech in a strong, confident voice.

confident about

▪ After living in France for a year, I felt much more confident about my French.

be/feel confident about (doing) something

▪ I’m not very confident about going back to work.

confident of

▪ Baldwin is confident of victory in this year’s senate race.

confidently [adverb]

▪ She answered each question confidently.

▪ ‘It’ll all work out in the end,’ said Brown confidently.

▷ self-confident /self ˈkɒnfə̇d ə ntǁ-ˈkɑːn-/ [adjective]

someone who is self-confident is very confident about their own abilities and is not shy or nervous in social situations :

▪ Jess was only 12, but she was very self-confident.

▪ I eventually became more self-confident as a public speaker.

supremely self-confident

extremely self-confident

▪ She was supremely self-confident, with the gift of being able to talk on any subject whenever the camera was rolling.

▷ self-assured /ˌself əˈʃʊəʳd◂/ [adjective]

very confident in your own abilities and able to deal calmly with other people, especially in public situations :

▪ Having done this many times before, she was self-assured and spoke without notes.

▪ On the surface Dana was calm and self-assured, but I knew that this wasn’t completely the case.

▷ assertive /əˈsɜːʳtɪv/ [adjective]

someone who is assertive behaves confidently so that they get what they want :

▪ Jack has a very assertive personality.

▪ The course helps women learn how to be more assertive in the workplace.

assertively [adverb]

▪ Try to communicate assertively — not aggressively.

assertiveness [uncountable noun]

▪ The group has been given training in public speaking and assertiveness.

▷ sure of yourself /ˈʃʊər əv jɔːʳself/ [adjective phrase]

very sure that what you think is right, even when other people do not agree with you :

▪ He sounded so sure of himself that I didn’t bother to argue.

▪ Jenny was younger than her sister but seemed much more sure of herself.

▷ extrovert /ˈekstrəvəʳt/ [countable noun]

someone who enjoys being with other people and getting a lot of attention from other people :

▪ Jan says her twin babies are completely different: Kelly is a real extrovert while Jessie is quiet and thoughtful.

▪ Most actors are natural extroverts.

▪ He’s a total extrovert who will talk to any stranger.

extrovert [adjective]

▪ The Signore was extrovert and jolly and his wife was a wonderful cook.

2. too confident

▷ overconfident /ˌəʊvəʳˈkɒnfɪd ə nt, ˌəʊvəʳˈkɒnfəd ə ntǁ-ˈkɑːn-/ [adjective]

too sure that you will succeed or win, often when you do not have the ability to do this :

▪ Murray worried that the team was becoming overconfident.

▪ As drivers, teenage boys are often overconfident and take stupid risks.

▷ cocky /ˈkɒkiǁˈkɑːki/ [adjective] informal

too confident about yourself and your abilities, especially in a way that annoys other people :

▪ a cocky young lieutenant

▪ My brother can be a little bit cocky sometimes.

▪ She didn’t come off well in the interview — she was a bit too cocky, a bit too sure of herself.

▷ brash /bræʃ/ [adjective]

someone who is brash is very confident in an annoying way, for example because they talk too loudly and never listen to other people :

▪ The hotel bar was full of brash, noisy journalists.

▪ a brash young salesman from New York

3. a confident feeling

▷ confidence /ˈkɒnfɪd ə ns, ˈkɒnfəd ə nsǁˈkɑːn-/ [uncountable noun]

the feeling that you have the ability to do things well, and to not make mistakes or be nervous in new situations :

▪ You need patience and confidence to be a good teacher.

have the confidence to do something

▪ ‘We have the confidence to beat Brazil,’ said Sampson.

▪ After the accident it took a long time before she had the confidence to get back in a car again.

full of confidence

very confident

▪ I went into the test full of confidence, but it was more difficult than I had imagined.

▷ self-confidence /self ˈkɒnfə̇d ə nsǁ-ˈkɑːn-/ [uncountable noun]

a strong belief that you can do things well and that other people will like you, which means you behave confidently in most situations :

▪ He’s new in the job but he has plenty of self-confidence.

▪ Studies show that girls tend to lose some of their self-confidence in their teenage years.

▪ Students who get some kind of work experience develop greater self-confidence and better communication skills.

▷ morale /məˈrɑːlǁməˈræl/ [uncountable noun]

the level of confidence, satisfaction, and hope that people feel, especially a group of people who work together :

low/high morale

▪ Morale among the soldiers has been low.

keep up morale

keep it at a high level

▪ They sang songs to keep up their morale until the rescuers arrived.

▷ assurance/self-assurance /əˈʃʊ ə rəns, ˌself əˈʃʊ ə rəns/ [uncountable noun]

a feeling of calm confidence in your own abilities, especially because you have a lot of experience :

▪ She envied the older woman’s assurance.

▪ Danby spoke to the committee with the self-assurance of an expert.

▷ belief in yourself /bɪˈliːf ɪn jɔːʳˌself, bəˈliːf ɪn jɔːʳˌself/ [noun phrase]

confidence in your own abilities, value, and judgment, which makes it likely that you will be successful at something :

▪ You must have belief in yourself if you want to make it as an actor.

▪ To acquire that level of skill requires years of training and an unfailing belief in yourself.

▷ self-esteem /ˌself ɪˈstiːm/ [uncountable noun]

the feeling that you are someone who deserves to be liked and respected :

▪ Getting a job did a lot for her self-esteem.

▪ Sports should build a child’s self-esteem, not damage it.

4. to make someone feel more confident

▷ give somebody confidence /ˌgɪv somebody ˈkɒnfə̇d ə nsǁ-ˈkɑːn-/ [verb phrase]

▪ Teaching abroad was good for me. It gave me a lot of confidence.

▪ ‘The activities,’ said Harris, ‘are designed to give children confidence in their reading abilities.’

give somebody the confidence to do something

▪ The country needs the backing of the international community to give it the confidence to rebuild its war-battered economy.

▷ boost somebody’s confidence /ˌbuːst somebodyˈs ˈkɒnfə̇d ə nsǁ -ˈkɑːn-/ [verb phrase]

an event or action that boosts someone’s confidence quickly makes them feel more confident :

▪ Winning this game will really boost the team’s confidence.

▪ To boost my confidence I went for a haircut and bought some new clothes.

▷ build/build up (somebody’s) confidence /ˌbɪld, ˌbɪld ʌp somebodyˈs ˈkɒnfə̇d ə nsǁˈkɑːn-/ [verb phrase]

to gradually make someone feel more confident :

▪ The games are designed to make maths fun and build up youngsters’ confidence.

▪ Build confidence by assigning tasks which draw on an employee’s areas of strength.

▷ boost morale/raise morale /ˌbuːst məˈrɑːl‖-ˈræl, ˌreɪz məˈrɑl‖-məˈræl/ [verb phrase]

to raise the level of confidence and satisfaction among a group of people :

▪ A pay raise would boost employee morale a great deal.

▪ Visits by celebrities and politicians were meant to boost morale among the troops.

▷ boost somebody’s ego /ˌbuːst somebodyˈs ˈiːgəʊ/ [verb phrase]

to make someone feel more confident about themselves, for example by saying good things about their appearance, character, or work :

▪ It was nice to have my work praised for once — it really boosted my ego.

▪ The fact that Jane was attracted to him boosted his ego quite a bit.

▷ give somebody a boost/a lift /ˌgɪv somebody ə ˈbuːst, ə ˈlɪft/ [verb phrase]

to make someone feel happier or more confident :

▪ Nothing could have given the team a bigger boost than the victory over Canada.

▪ When I was feeling down, talking to Marion always gave me a lift.

5. not confident

▷ lack confidence/be lacking in confidence /ˌlæk ˈkɒnfə̇d ə ns, biː ˌlækɪŋ ɪn ˈkɒnfə̇d ə nsǁ-ˈkɑːn-/ [verb phrase]

to not be confident about your abilities or appearance :

▪ Francine lacks confidence and needs a lot of encouragement and support.

▪ I was fat, had no friends, and lacked confidence.

▪ While girls lack confidence, boys often overestimate their abilities.

▷ lose confidence /ˌluːz ˈkɒnfə̇d ə ns ǁ-ˈkɑːn-/ [verb phrase]

to stop feeling confident, especially after making a mistake :

▪ ‘How was your driving test?’ ‘Terrible — I made one small mistake, and then I just lost confidence.’

▪ People tend to lose confidence if they’ve been out of work for a while.

▷ unsure of yourself /ʌnˈʃʊər əv jɔːʳself/ [adjective phrase]

to not be confident, especially because you are young or you do not have much experience :

▪ At first, Chris seemed nervous and unsure of herself.

▪ He was only 21 and still very unsure of himself with girls.

▷ insecure /ˌɪnsɪˈkjʊəʳ/ [adjective]

not confident about making decisions, trying new experiences, or forming new relationships, especially because you are worried that you are not good enough :

▪ Ben’s parents’ divorce left him lonely and insecure.

insecure about

▪ Even though she’s a model, she’s very insecure about how she looks.

▷ demoralized /dɪˈmɒrəlaɪzdǁ-ˈmɔːr-/ [adjective]

if a person or a group of people are demoralized, they have lost all their confidence that they can succeed at something and are unwilling to continue with it :

▪ a demoralized work force

▪ Many employees became demoralized and cynical when the company announced another round of job cuts.

utterly/thoroughly demoralized

▪ The team was a wreck — thoroughly demoralized after a humiliating season.

▷ discouraged /dɪsˈkʌrɪdʒdǁ-ˈkɜː-/ [adjective]

not confident about something you are trying to achieve, because you have had difficulty achieving it :

▪ I was very discouraged at the time, but I still hoped we could find a solution.

get/become discouraged

▪ Students with learning difficulties who do not have a dedicated teacher can become discouraged very easily.

discouraged by

▪ Discouraged by her failed marriages, she gradually withdrew from the world.

discouraged about

▪ Hartman was so discouraged about the way his performing career was going, that he gave up acting for writing.

6. to make someone feel less confident

▷ shake/damage (somebody’s) confidence /ˌʃeɪk, ˌdæmɪdʒ somebodyˈs ˈkɒnfə̇d ə nsǁ -ˈkɑːn-/ [verb phrase]

if something shakes or damages someone’s confidence, it makes them feel unsure of their abilities and less confident :

▪ Being fired really shook his confidence.

badly shaken

▪ Her confidence was badly shaken when she was involved in a car accident a few years ago.

▷ demoralizing /dɪˈmɒrəlaɪzɪŋǁ-ˈmɔːr-/ [adjective]

making people feel that they cannot be successful at something they are trying to do, so that they become unwilling to continue with it :

▪ the demoralizing effects of unemployment

▪ Many of the teachers found the school board’s criticism unfair and demoralizing.

▪ Rivas says being on welfare was a demoralizing and humiliating experience.

▷ take the wind out of somebody’s sails /teɪk ðə ˌwɪnd aʊt əv somebodyˈs ˈseɪlz/ [verb phrase] informal

to make someone lose their confidence, especially by saying or doing something unexpected :

▪ Last night’s defeat has taken some of the wind out of the team’s sails.

▷ discourage /dɪsˈkʌrɪdʒǁ-ˈkɜː-/ [transitive verb]

to make someone feel less confident about something they are trying to achieve :

▪ What discouraged me most was our lack of progress in the pay negotiations.

▪ Although the troubles in the financial markets have made him cautious, Reid said they haven’t discouraged him.

▷ discouraging /dɪsˈkʌrɪdʒɪŋǁ-ˈkɜː-/ [adjective]

making someone feel less confident about something they are trying to achieve :

▪ My father made a few discouraging remarks about my academic abilities that have stayed with me to this day.

▪ Despite discouraging viewing figures for their movie ‘For the Boys’, Paramount decided to try to make another similar film.

be discouraging to do something

▪ It’s very discouraging to find out that your own team members have been lying to you.

discouraging that

▪ It is deeply discouraging that the government can struggle with the nation’s budget for nearly a year and still fail to achieve anything.