reluctantly
adverb
re·luc·tant·ly
ri-ˈlək-tənt-lē 
: in a reluctant manner : with aversion or hesitation
The quiet resolution in his voice penetrated her racing thoughts. Reluctantly she gave him a corner of her attention.—
Elizabeth George Speare
Elizabeth George SpeareHe is about to release 'Thriller,' and today he's agreed, reluctantly, to sit for the Rolling Stone cover.—Gerri Hirshey
Gerri HirsheyKirsti had gone to bed reluctantly, complaining that she wanted to stay up with the others, that she was grownup enough, … that it wasn't fair.—Lois Lowry
Lois LowryExamples of reluctantly in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And this comes after he was pulled in his last game — reluctantly, of course — after giving up four goals on 25 shots.
—Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 27 Nov. 2025
The alien experts at UNIT (Unified Intelligence Taskforce) subsequently play a pivotal role in negotiations, as a lowly agent named Barclay (Russell Tovey) reluctantly enters talks with Sea Devil counterpart Salt (Gugu Mbatha-Raw).
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 27 Nov. 2025
The bride and groom, hoping to avoid conflict during an already stressful planning process, reluctantly let the unexpected extra guest slide.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2025
His beleaguered agent says the only job available is a theater role in England, so Brad reluctantly makes the trek across the pond.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 24 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reluctantly
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Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 27 Nov. 2025
The alien experts at UNIT (Unified Intelligence Taskforce) subsequently play a pivotal role in negotiations, as a lowly agent named Barclay (Russell Tovey) reluctantly enters talks with Sea Devil counterpart Salt (Gugu Mbatha-Raw).
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 27 Nov. 2025
The bride and groom, hoping to avoid conflict during an already stressful planning process, reluctantly let the unexpected extra guest slide.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2025
His beleaguered agent says the only job available is a theater role in England, so Brad reluctantly makes the trek across the pond.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 24 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reluctantly
Cite this Entry
“Reluctantly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reluctantly. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.
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