mental reservation
an unexpressed doubt or qualification about a situation, person, etc.
Origin of mental reservation
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use mental reservation in a sentence
"Correctly; I'm with you," agreed Bristow, still with the mental reservation that he would deal with Withers as he saw fit.
The Winning Clue | James Hay, Jr.I received this admonition with a decided mental reservation.
A Journey Through France in War Time | Joseph G. Butler, Jr.Such words conveyed no mental reservation—though his own heart told him he had over shot the truth.
Sarchedon | G. J. (George John) Whyte-MelvilleWill you, without mental reservation, take a solemn oath to defend, preserve and enforce same?
The Modern Ku Klux Klan | Henry Peck FryWhen the end had come both officers and men surrendered as they had fought,—without mental reservation.
Reminiscences of a Rebel | Wayland Fuller Dunaway
British Dictionary definitions for mental reservation
a tacit withholding of full assent or an unexpressed qualification made when one is taking an oath, making a statement, etc
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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