unconfident
Lacking inner assurance
Unconfident means lacking confidence or self-assurance: She felt unconfident about her presentation skills.
The word describes someone uncertain of their abilities or hesitant in their actions.
Though *not confident* is more common in speech, unconfident appears in writing when a single adjective is needed: an unconfident speaker, unconfident body language.
Not firmly known
- unsureLacking confidence or certainty
- skepticalInclined to question claims
- dubiousOf uncertain reliability
- questioningSeeking answers through inquiry
unconvinced · hesitant · wavering · ambivalent · equivocal · tentative · undecided · iffy
Reserved and retiring
- bashfulUncomfortably self-conscious
- meekHumbly unassertive
- mousyShy and unassertive
- retiringLeaving the workforce
reserved · sheepish · self-effacing · demure · timorous · fainthearted · withdrawn · introverted
Marked by hesitation
- falteringBecoming unsteady or weak
- stammeringInvoluntary speech repetition
- stutteringInvoluntary speech disfluency
- fumblingClumsy, uncoordinated handling
stumbling · awkward · clumsy · uncertain · tentative · nervous · shaky · unsteady
Troubled by uncertainty
- self-consciousUncomfortably aware of oneself
- inadequateNot sufficient for purpose
- vulnerableOpen to attack
- inferiorOf lower rank
apprehensive · fearful · nervous · worried · uneasy · underconfident · self-critical · self-questioning
uncertain
Not firmly known
- unsureLacking confidence or certainty
- skepticalInclined to question claims
- dubiousOf uncertain reliability
questioning · unconvinced · hesitant · wavering · ambivalent · equivocal · tentative · undecided · iffy · second-guessing
shy
Reserved and retiring
retiring · reserved · sheepish · self-effacing · demure · timorous · fainthearted · withdrawn · introverted · wallflower
halting
Marked by hesitation
- falteringBecoming unsteady or weak
- stammeringInvoluntary speech repetition
- stutteringInvoluntary speech disfluency
fumbling · stumbling · awkward · clumsy · uncertain · tentative · nervous · shaky · unsteady · tongue-tied
anxious
Troubled by uncertainty
- self-consciousUncomfortably aware of oneself
- inadequateNot sufficient for purpose
- vulnerableOpen to attack
inferior · apprehensive · fearful · nervous · worried · uneasy · underconfident · self-critical · self-questioning · fragile
unconfidentconfident
Sure of oneself
self-confident · self-assured · assured · bold · poised
confidence, confident, confide, confidential, diffident, confidently, self-confident, overconfidence, overconfident