reluctant
Use Reluctant in a sentence
tənt adjective
1.
unwilling; disinclined: a reluctant candidate.
2.
struggling in opposition.
Origin:
1655–65; < Latin reluctant- (stem of reluctāns), present participle of reluctārī. See reluct, -ant
1655–65; < Latin reluctant- (stem of reluctāns), present participle of reluctārī. See reluct, -ant
Related forms
re·luc·tant·ly, adverb
half-re·luc·tant, adjective
half-re·luc·tant·ly, adverb
un·re·luc·tant, adjective
un·re·luc·tant·ly, adverb
Can be confused: 1. reluctant, reticent (see synonym study at the current entry) ; 2. reticent, reluctant.
Synonyms
1. Reluctant, loath, averse describe disinclination toward something. Reluctant implies some sort of mental struggle, as between disinclination and sense of duty: reluctant to expel students. Loath describes extreme disinclination: loath to part from a friend. Averse used with to and a noun or a gerund, describes a long-held dislike or unwillingness, though not a particularly strong feeling: averse to an idea; averse to getting up early.
1. Reluctant, loath, averse describe disinclination toward something. Reluctant implies some sort of mental struggle, as between disinclination and sense of duty: reluctant to expel students. Loath describes extreme disinclination: loath to part from a friend. Averse used with to and a noun or a gerund, describes a long-held dislike or unwillingness, though not a particularly strong feeling: averse to an idea; averse to getting up early.
Antonyms
1. willing.
1. willing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To reluctant
00:10
Reluctant
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
reluctant (rɪˈlʌktənt) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | not eager; unwilling; disinclined |
| 2. | archaic offering resistance or opposition |
| [C17: from Latin reluctārī to resist; see | |
| re'luctantly | |
| —adv | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
reluctant
"unwilling," 1660s, from L. reluctantem, prp. of reluctari (see reluctance). Related: Reluctantly.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Cite This Source
Example sentences
Patient is reluctant or unwilling to provide reference information and usually has no regular doctor or health insurance.
Farmers may be reluctant to cut their sales, and consumers may be unwilling to pay higher milk prices.
Modern physics dismisses this metaphysics, although philosophers seem reluctant to follow.
Or he might have been reluctant to dwell upon so strange and inexplicable an occurrence.
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