in ‧ se ‧ cure AC /ˌɪnsɪˈkjʊə◂ $ -ˈkjʊr◂/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: verb : ↑ secure ; noun : ↑ security ≠ ↑ insecurity ; adverb : ↑ securely ≠ ↑ insecurely ; adjective : ↑ secure ≠ ↑ insecure ]
1 . not feeling at all confident about yourself, your abilities, or your relationships with people
insecure about
She’s very insecure about her appearance.
She felt lonely and insecure away from her family.
2 . a job, ↑ investment etc that is insecure does not give you a feeling of safety, because it might be taken away or lost at any time:
Many of them work in low-paid insecure jobs.
3 . a building or structure that is insecure is not safe, because it could fall down
—insecurity noun [uncountable and countable] :
Student teachers often suffer from a great sense of insecurity.
her deepest fears and insecurities
—insecurely adverb
• • •
THESAURUS
■ not confident
▪ lack confidence/be lacking in confidence to not be confident about your abilities or appearance:
Francine is lacking in confidence and needs a lot of encouragement.
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I was fat, had no friends, and lacked confidence.
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While girls lack confidence, boys often overestimate their abilities.
▪ shy not confident about meeting or speaking to people who you do not know:
Jane is a quiet shy person.
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He had been painfully shy (=very shy) as a child.
▪ insecure not confident about yourself or your relationships, especially because you are worried that you are not good enough:
His childhood had left him very insecure.
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Ben’s parents’ divorce left him lonely and insecure.
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Models can make young women feel insecure about their own bodies.
▪ unsure of yourself not confident, especially because you are young or you do not have much experience:
At first, Chris seemed nervous and unsure of herself.
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He was only 21 and still very unsure of himself with girls.
▪ discouraged /dɪsˈkʌrɪdʒd $ -ˈkɜːr-/ not confident that you can succeed, because you have had problems trying to do something:
Students can become discouraged very easily if they are not given the help they need.
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I was very discouraged at the time, but I still hoped we could find a solution.
| 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.
▪ demoralized someone who is demoralized has lost all their confidence and wants to give up:
The team were completely demoralized after losing a series of games.
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a demoralized work force
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Many employees became demoralized and cynical when the company announced another round of job cuts.
| utterly/thoroughly demoralized