timidity /tɪˈmɪdɪti/ n.
胆怯,怯懦;缺乏勇气或自信的状态。
/tɪˈmɪdɪti/
She tried to hide her timidity when speaking in front of the class.
她试图在全班同学面前发言时掩饰自己的胆怯。
His timidity in negotiations often led to unfavorable outcomes, as he was unwilling to push back against unreasonable demands.
他在谈判中的怯懦常常导致不利的结果,因为他不愿意反驳不合理的要求。
源自拉丁语 timiditas,由 timidus(胆怯的)加上名词后缀 -itas 构成。timidus 又来自动词 timēre,意为"害怕、恐惧"。该词经由古法语传入英语,自14世纪起在英语中使用,一直保留着"因缺乏勇气而畏缩不前"的核心含义。