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
-
Xi’s words contrast with his emphasis on traditional gender roles, which has created a reluctance among officials to break families apart.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Smith has long been open about their history of struggle with body issues, including in a 2019 post in which the singer posed shirtless on a beach and described a reluctance early in their career to take photos without a shirt on.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
6 Nov. 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
-
Tampa Bay’s defeat to New England gave the exec some pause on the Buccaneers, while the injury situation in San Francisco seems too much to overcome.—
Mike Sando,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
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After a Boston appeals court ruled late Friday to not immediately intervene, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued a ruling pausing the requirement to distribute full SNAP payments until the appeals court rules on whether to issue a more lasting pause, the Associated Press said.—
Laura Bauer,
Kansas City Star,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hesitance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hesitance. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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