loath

or loth

[ lohth, lohth ]
See synonyms for loath on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. unwilling; reluctant; disinclined; averse: to be loath to admit a mistake.

Origin of loath

1
First 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
  1. (usually foll by to) reluctant or unwilling

  2. nothing loath willing

Origin of loath

1
Old 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