Definition of reluctant
reluctantly
adverbIndulge Your Inner Word Nerd
Examples of reluctant in a Sentence
94% of the butterflies are females, and they jostle for the attention of the few males, who seem reluctant suitors. —Carl Zimmer, Science, 11 May 2001
The man swore sullenly. He went over to a corner and slowly began to put on his coat. He took his hat and went out, with a dragging, reluctant step. —Stephen Crane, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, 1893
The woman seemed desirous, yet reluctant, to speak, and answered, in low, mysterious tone. —Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, 1852
When I missed five in a row and was reluctant to take the next shot or didn't really follow through, my teammates would yell, “Brick!” —Bill Bradley, New York Times, 18 Dec. 1994
We were reluctant to get involved.
He might agree but seems reluctant to admit it.
Recent Examples of reluctant from the Web
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The president-elect, at times, has been reluctant to delegate.
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Yet with cyber, each country will be extremely reluctant to let others know its capabilities.
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As domestic investors are yet to recover from last year’s $5 trillion market selloff, Chinese regulators have appeared reluctant to approve bigger IPOs for fear of hurting sentiment.
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Even the young participants in the Nielsen study seemed reluctant to take their hands off the wheel, especially high school students with licenses.
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The organizer of another alt-tourism operation was even more reluctant, and asked not to be quoted, or included here, at all.
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Mr. Stewart said many Southerners were reluctant to allow state officials to decide how to commemorate the region’s history.
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But over the past few years, some inside Twitter have been reluctant to make any major changes, for fear of alienating the service’s most dedicated users or disturbing ad sales.
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Schwarzenegger was a champion of California's redistricting reform measures - as Rep. Alan Lowenthal told me last week, his support was the key to getting those measures passed by a reluctant legislature.
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Origin and Etymology of reluctant
Latin reluctant-, reluctans, present participle of reluctari to struggle against, from re- + luctari to struggle
First Known Use: 1638
Synonym Discussion of reluctant
RELUCTANT Defined for English Language Learners
reluctant
playDefinition of reluctant for English Language Learners
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: feeling or showing doubt about doing something : not willing or eager to do something
RELUCTANT Defined for Kids
reluctant
playDefinition of reluctant for Students
: showing doubt or unwillingness She was reluctant to go.
reluctantly
adverbLearn More about reluctant
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for reluctant Spanish Central: Translation of reluctant Nglish: Translation of reluctant for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of reluctant for Arabic speakers
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