tentatively

adverb

ten·​ta·​tive·​ly ˈten-tə-tiv-lē How to pronounce tentatively (audio)
: with hesitancy or uncertainty : in a tentative manner
He tentatively agreed to the deal.
Sliding along beside me was a five-foot-long mako shark …. Tentatively, I touched its dorsal fin.Rick Riordan
Once upon a time, tech titans would tentatively suggest, "Our technology can improve your life" …Kentaro Toyama
The network has announced a new series, tentatively titled The Fashion ShowLyndon Stambler

Examples of tentatively in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Topline The United Auto Workers and Ford have tentatively agreed on a new local contract for workers at the automaker’s Kentucky truck factory, one of the company’s most important plants, staving off what would have been the second strike at the facility in months. James Farrell, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024 The closing date is tentatively set March 3 for the bar, with takeout service for beer and growler fills slated to close up March 10 or earlier, if supplies sell out. Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 20 Feb. 2024 That ruling sent the case back to the lower court for more proceedings, and a trial had been tentatively scheduled to begin in May. Bill Donahue, Billboard, 14 Feb. 2024 Her next book, tentatively titled The Spirit in the Trees, is a cultural history of Russia’s forests. Merve Emre, The New York Review of Books, 13 Feb. 2024 The plan covers 162 million acres overseen by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and tentatively concludes that companies should be able to propose solar projects across 22 million acres — an area roughly the size of Maine. Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2024 The shopping center is tentatively named The Village and will be located along Elk Grove Boulevard, between Big Horn Boulevard and Waymark Drive. Marcus D. Smith, Sacramento Bee, 31 Jan. 2024 Their latest findings, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, provide evidence that has led experts to consider, tentatively, using the c-word. Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 21 Feb. 2024 Supreme Court and Florida’s death penalty law Smith’s re-sentencing, now tentatively scheduled for June, is the cascading effect of a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down Florida’s death penalty law. Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 16 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tentatively.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1819, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tentatively was in 1819

Dictionary Entries Near tentatively

Cite this Entry

“Tentatively.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tentatively. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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