dif-fīdo — Lewis & Short
dif-fīdo, fīsus (post-class.
I perf. diffidi), 3, v. n., to distrust; to be diffident or distrustful, to despair (freq. and class.).
(a) With dat. (so most freq.):
eum potius (corrupisse), qui sibi aliqua ratione diffideret, quam eum, qui omni ratione confideret,Cic. Clu. 23, 63:
sibi,Plaut. Rud. prol. 82; Cic. Prov. Cons. 16, 38:
memoriae alicujus,id. Part. Or. 17, 59:
sibi patriaeque,Sall. C. 31, 3:
suis rebus,Caes. B. G. 5, 41, 5:
veteri exercitui,Sall. J. 52, 6; 32, 5; 46, 1;
75, 1: suae atque omnium saluti,Caes. B. G. 6, 38, 2:
summae rei,id. B. C. 3, 94 fin.:
perpetuitati bonorum,Cic. Fin. 2, 27, 86:
ingenio meo,id. Mur. 30, 63:
huic sententiae,id. Tusc. 5, 1, 3: prudentiae tuae, Sulp. ap. Cic. Fam. 4, 5, 6:
rei publicae,Cic. Fam. 5, 13, 3:
illis (viris),Ov. H. 10, 97:
caelestibus monitis,id. M. 1, 397 et saep.—Pass. impers.:
cur M. Valerio non diffideretur,Liv. 24, 8; so Tac. A. 15, 4.—
(b) With a dependent clause:
antiquissimi invenire se posse, quod cuperent, diffisi sint,Cic. Ac. 2, 3; id. Quint. 24, 77; id. Or. 1, 3; 28, 97; Caes. B. G. 6, 36; Quint. 10, 1, 126 al.; cf.:
quos diffidas sanos facere, facies,Cato R. R. 157, 13:
quem manu superare posse diffiderent,Nep. Alcib. 10, 4.—*
(g) With ne:
ne terras aeterna teneret,Lucr. 5, 980.—
(d) Rarely with abl. (after the analogy of fido and confido):
diffisus occasione,Suet. Caes. 3 Burm. and Oud.; so,
paucitate suorum,Front. Strat. 1, 8, 5 Oud.:
paucitate cohortium (al. paucitati),Tac. H. 2, 23:
potestate,Lact. 5, 20 (also Caes. B. C. 1, 12, 2, several good MSS. have voluntate; and id. ib. 3, 97, 2: eo loco, v. Oud. on the former pass.).— (e) Absol.:
(facis) ex confidente actutum diffidentem denuo,Plaut. Merc. 5, 2, 15:
jacet, diffidit, abjecit hastas,Cic. Mur. 21, 45:
ita graviter aeger, ut omnes medici diffiderent. id, Div. 1, 25, 53: de Othone, diffido,id. Att. 12, 43, 2 al.—Hence, diffīdens, entis, P. a., without self-confidence, diffident, anxious, Suet. Claud. 35; id. Tib. 65. —Adv.: diffīdenter, without self-confidence, diffidently (very rare): timide et diffidenter attingere aliquid, * Cic. Clu. 1, 1:
agere,Liv. 32, 21, 8:
incedere,Amm. 26, 7, 13.—Comp.:
timidius ac diffidentius bella ingredi,Just. 38, 7, 4.