1
as in reluctance
a lack of willingness or desire to do or accept something
sales figures for the month were up, as consumers began to overcome their hesitance about purchasing big-ticket items
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hesitation
a state or an instance of temporary inaction because of uncertainty about the right course of action
she mistook my hesitance to mean I didn't like her poem, but I was trying to come up with appropriate words of praise
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hesitance
Shares have remained relatively stable, affected by investor hesitance regarding China’s steel demand and ongoing worries about Brazil's regulatory landscape.
—
Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Josh Brolin, who played big brother Brandon Walsh, expressed hesitance about a second movie.
—Daysia Tolentino, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Sep. 2025
Probably not, given the company’s strange hesitance to part ways with its current leadership.
—Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
Their hesitance comes in the wake of executive orders targeting some of the country’s most powerful law firms, which have split between fighting the orders and compliance agreements.
—Lluvia Gaucin, IndyStar, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hesitance
Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Josh Brolin, who played big brother Brandon Walsh, expressed hesitance about a second movie.
—Daysia Tolentino, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Sep. 2025
Probably not, given the company’s strange hesitance to part ways with its current leadership.
—Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
Their hesitance comes in the wake of executive orders targeting some of the country’s most powerful law firms, which have split between fighting the orders and compliance agreements.
—Lluvia Gaucin, IndyStar, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hesitance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hesitance
Noun
-
Sometimes the case for war’s inevitability is couched in expressions of rue and reluctance.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Davis is one prong of the right wing push to overturn Obergefell, and is currently asking the Supreme Court to revisit that decision, though Justices Samuel Alito and Amy Coney Barrett have seemingly expressed some reluctance to do so.—
Samantha Riedel,
Them.,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
So there's no hesitation in that regard.—
EW Staff,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Tuesday's result capped a tumultuous final month that saw national Republican condemnation, Democratic hesitation and equivocation, and a barrage of attack ads.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Wyatt gave Minnie some distance, which made sense after Kylie spoke about her eldest daughter’s hesitancy around characters at the theme park.—
Rachel McRady,
PEOPLE,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Liberty’s own hesitancy to committing is based on her past as well as her day-to-day dealing with [divorce] clients.—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
On Friday, two federal judges ruled that this pause is likely unlawful.—
Jennifer Ludden,
NPR,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Some guests at the Sunday lunch said the pause had not hit them yet — recipients get their benefits at different points in the month, not always on the first day.—
Hope Karnopp,
jsonline.com,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hesitance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hesitance. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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