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
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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
-
Neighbors expressed hesitation about the plans, citing the noise helicopters would cause, WPBF News 25 and WPTV reported.—
Jenna Sundel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Villa had known Elliott was available in the months before, yet the price caused hesitation.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Her hesitancy alone is treated as a question in need of an answer rather than a valid response to an increasingly complex choice.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Jennifer Lawrence opened up about her hesitancy about speaking to the press during an interview with The New Yorker published Monday.—
Charisma Madarang,
Rolling Stone,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
If the pause continues, Forgotten Harvest will extensively fundraise.—
Nushrat Rahman,
Freep.com,
27 Oct. 2025
-
Congress signed into law a divest-or-ban order during the Biden administration, but Trump—whose Justice Department must enforce a ban—issued, then repeatedly extended, an enforcement pause in the interest of coming to terms about divestiture.—
Andrew Nusca,
Fortune,
27 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hesitance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hesitance. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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