Synonyms of reluctance

reluctance

noun

ri-ˈlək-tən(t)s 

as in unwillingness

a lack of willingness or desire to do or accept something

the mice showed an odd reluctance to eat the cheese we had put out for them

Synonyms & Similar Words

• unwillingness
• hesitancy
• reticence
• hesitance
• doubt
• disinclination
• hesitation
• skepticism
• suspicion
• uncertainty
• indecision
• vacillation
• irresolution
• distrust
• wavering
• faltering
• mistrust
• staggering
• wobbling
• fence-sitting
• incertitude
• shilly-shallying
• misgiving
• misdoubt
• distrustfulness
• mistrustfulness
• uncertainness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• willingness
• inclination
• conviction
• assurance
• certainty
• surety
• certitude
• positiveness
• assuredness
• sureness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of reluctance

In a seller’s market, however, he might be constrained by a dearth of prospect capital and some reluctance to trade from the back of his big-league bullpen. — Dennis Lin, New York Times, 26 July 2026

In 2014, law scholar Eloise Pasachoff identified arguments scholars use to explain federal agencies’ reluctance to cut off funds. — Austin Sarat, The Conversation, 24 July 2026

Fifteen years after the Grammy-winning singer’s death, her mother Janis Winehouse opened up about dealing with grief and her daughter’s reluctance toward success in a new interview with The i magazine. — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 23 July 2026

The surface reluctance of the United States, over past decades, to use force helped preserve the potency of the Pentagon. — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 17 July 2026