self-confidence

self-confidence — noun

1. a feeling of trust in your own skills, judgment, and ability to handle situation

1.nounB2
Definition

a feeling of trust in your own skills, judgment, and ability to handle situations successfully

Example

Kofi showed great self-confidence when he gave his first speech to the board.

show + self-confidence (verb + uncountable noun)

Tamar's self-confidence grew stronger after each successful project she led.

self-confidence + grow (typical verb collocation)

Common collocations
  • have / show / display self-confidence
  • lack / lose self-confidence
  • build / develop / gain self-confidence
  • boost / increase / improve self-confidence
  • great / quiet / natural / growing self-confidence
  • low / fragile / shaken self-confidence
  • self-confidence in + [topic/area]
  • with / without self-confidence
Synonyms
  • confidence

    broader meaning — can apply to trust in external things or oneself; more general than self-confidence

  • self-assurance

    emphasises a calm, steady belief in one's own ability, often shown in how a person behaves

  • self-belief

    more informal and emotional; focuses on inner conviction rather than outward composure

  • poise

    narrower — refers to graceful, controlled behaviour under pressure, not to general trust in one's skills

Antonyms
  • self-doubt

    direct opposite — lack of faith in your own abilities

  • insecurity

    a feeling of uncertainty or nervousness about yourself and your place in a situation

  • timidity

    shyness or hesitation that prevents a person from acting confidently

Grammar Patterns

self-confidence + in + noun phrase

Usage Note

Unlike 'confidence', which can refer to trust in external things (e.g. confidence in the economy), 'self‑confidence' is restricted to trust in your own abilities. It is uncountable — do not write 'self‑confidences'.

Common Mistakes

She is self-confidence.
She has a lot of self-confidence.' or 'She is self-confident.
'self-confidence' is a noun; the adjective form is 'self-confident.'
I need a self-confidence to speak in public.
I need self-confidence to speak in public.
'self-confidence' is uncountable and does not take an article.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Confidence' is the broadest term — it can refer to trust in someone else, in a system, or in yourself ('I have confidence in the team'), whereas 'self‑confidence' is strictly about belief in your own abilities. 'Self‑assurance' overlaps closely but carries a nuance of calm, outward composure — someone can have quiet self‑assurance without actively demonstrating it. 'Self‑belief' is more informal and emotional, often used in motivational contexts ('You need self‑belief to succeed'). 'Poise' is narrower still: it describes graceful, controlled behaviour under pressure (e.g. 'She answered the hostile questions with poise') rather than a general sense of ability. If you feel capable inside but get nervous in public, you have self‑confidence but lack poise.

confidence ↗self-assurance ↗self-beliefpoise

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • with great self-confidence
  • without self-confidence
  • a lack of self-confidence

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishLatinEnglish

A compound of 'self-' (from Old English 'self', meaning the same person) and 'confidence' (from Latin 'confīdentia', meaning firm trust, from 'confīdere' — 'con-' meaning completely + 'fīdere' meaning to trust). The word 'self-confidence' emerged in English around the early 1600s, first used in theological writings to describe trust in one's own spiritual judgment rather than in external authority.