loath
or loth
[ lohth, lohth ]
adjective
unwilling; reluctant; disinclined; averse: to be loath to admit a mistake.
Origin of loath
1First recorded before 900; Middle English loth, lath,Old English lāth “hostile, hateful”; cognate with Dutch leed,German leid “sorry,” Old Norse leithr “hateful”
synonym study For loath
See reluctant.
Opposites for loath
Other words from loath
- loathness, noun
- o·ver·loath, adjective
- un·loath, adjective
- un·loath·ly, adverb
Words that may be confused with loath
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for loath
loath
loth
/ (ləʊθ) /
adjective
(usually foll by to) reluctant or unwilling
nothing loath willing
Origin of loath
1Old English lāth (in the sense: hostile); related to Old Norse leithr
Derived forms of loath
- loathness or lothness, noun
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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