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I need an acronym for "low self-esteem", one word is a must, and preferrably archaic.

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WITWDYNAAF? (What in the world do you need an acronym for?) – tchrist Mar 7 at 19:33
Do you need a single-word synonym or an acronym. You seem to mean synonym not acronym. Not voting to close, yet. – Kris Mar 21 at 14:09

closed as not constructive by MετάEd, coleopterist, aedia λ, cornbread ninja 麵包忍者, Kristina Lopez Mar 21 at 17:26

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3 Answers

up vote 1 down vote accepted

from Merriam-Webster, and searching for self-esteem:

  1. a reasonable or justifiable sense of one's worth or importance
    Near Antonyms discredit, disesteem, disgrace, dishonor, disrepute, humiliation, ignominy, infamy, obloquy, odium, opprobrium, shame; demureness, down-to-earthness, humbleness, humility, modesty; diffidence, meekness, shyness, timidity, timidness

  2. an often unjustified feeling of being pleased with oneself or with one's situation or achievements
    Near Antonyms diffidence, self-doubt; self-disgust, self-hate, self-loathing; altruism, unselfishness; bashfulness, demureness, shyness, timidity, timidness; passiveness, passivity
    Antonyms humbleness, humility, modesty

  3. great faith in oneself or one's abilities
    Near Antonyms apprehension, doubt, misgiving
    Antonyms diffidence, insecurity, self-distrust, self-doubt

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up vote 1 down vote

It's not "Ancient English" (I'm happy to ignore that aspect of OP's question as Too Localised), but...

self-belittlement

...is close enough to "one word" for me.

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up vote 0 down vote

Diffident, meaning lacking self-confidence. Not quite the same as lacking self-esteem, but, in one word, it's nearly so.

Oops, I see Sean touched on this already.

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