tentative
Use Tentative in a sentence
tə adjective
1.
of the nature of or made or done as a trial, experiment, or attempt; experimental: a tentative report on her findings.
2.
unsure; uncertain; not definite or positive; hesitant: a tentative smile on his face.
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.
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Link To tentative
00:10
Tentative
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| 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. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
tentative (ˈtɛntətɪv) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | provisional or experimental; conjectural |
| 2. | hesitant, uncertain, or cautious |
| [C16: from Medieval Latin tentātīvus, from Latin tentāre to test] | |
| 'tentatively | |
| —adv | |
| 'tentativeness | |
| —n | |
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
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
tentative
1580s, from M.L. tentativus "trying, testing," from L. tentatus, pp. of tentare "to feel, try," (variant of temptare "to feel, try, test"). Related: Tentatively.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Her hair is blonder now, her makeup more expertly done, her once tentative smile broad and welcoming.
US consumers picked up spending slightly last month, but they are still tentative and their debt levels remain high.
With white satin pageant sashes, they stood at the edge of the dining room, more tentative than triumphant.
Even that tentative upturn relied on unparalleled looseness in fiscal and monetary policy.
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