tentatively
adverb
ten·ta·tive·ly
ˈten-tə-tiv-lē 
: 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
Rick RiordanOnce upon a time, tech titans would tentatively suggest, "Our technology can improve your life" …—Kentaro Toyama
Kentaro ToyamaThe network has announced a new series, tentatively titled The Fashion Show …—Lyndon Stambler
Lyndon StamblerExamples of tentatively in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
One project is located to the west near Jimmy Durante Boulevard, a water main construction tentatively scheduled to begin in 2026 and be completed by spring 2027.
—Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2025
When the tiny plants suddenly gained confidence, though, and shot up toward the sky as trees some 50 million years later in the Devonian Period, the first forests tentatively spread across the world, and fire came into its own.
—Peter Brannen, Big Think, 28 Aug. 2025
People like Cafe Roze co-owner Julia Jaksic, who with business partner Owen Gibler, will open a new bar tentatively called Roza in a 1,400-square-foot Arcade space later this year.
—Mackensy Lunsford, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
Wisconsin Department of Transportation has tentatively scheduled that work to begin in 2026 and run through 2028.
—Tom Daykin, jsonline.com, 20 Aug. 2025
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Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2025
When the tiny plants suddenly gained confidence, though, and shot up toward the sky as trees some 50 million years later in the Devonian Period, the first forests tentatively spread across the world, and fire came into its own.
—Peter Brannen, Big Think, 28 Aug. 2025
People like Cafe Roze co-owner Julia Jaksic, who with business partner Owen Gibler, will open a new bar tentatively called Roza in a 1,400-square-foot Arcade space later this year.
—Mackensy Lunsford, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
Wisconsin Department of Transportation has tentatively scheduled that work to begin in 2026 and run through 2028.
—Tom Daykin, jsonline.com, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tentatively
Cite this Entry
“Tentatively.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tentatively. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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