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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hesitance
Probably not, given the company’s strange hesitance to part ways with its current leadership.
—
Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
Hawley clearly didn’t feel the same level of hesitance regarding comparisons between Alien: Earth and Ridley Scott’s Alien.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 2 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
Damar Hamlin’s hesitance in coverage again showed why the Bills are looking at him as more of a backup role, but now their other depth safety options in Hancock and Lewis are injured.
—Joe Buscaglia, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hesitance
Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
Hawley clearly didn’t feel the same level of hesitance regarding comparisons between Alien: Earth and Ridley Scott’s Alien.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 2 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
Damar Hamlin’s hesitance in coverage again showed why the Bills are looking at him as more of a backup role, but now their other depth safety options in Hancock and Lewis are injured.
—Joe Buscaglia, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hesitance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hesitance
Noun
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And Clark’s fans, who have often noted the exceptionally high level of physicality directed at Clark and who’ve been aghast at the league office’s reluctance to single out her unique star power, had good reasons to believe that the league was self-sabotaging.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
5 Oct. 2025
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As the missing final months in the timeline of An Unfinished Film indicates, the people's reluctance to talk about the pandemic cannot be attributed only to censorship.—
Yangyang Cheng,
NPR,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
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As the title suggests, its cast was entirely composed of couples in which one party was ready to get hitched, and the other had hesitations.—
James Factora,
Them.,
3 Oct. 2025
-
However, lofty goals often lead to significant hesitation or avoidance.—
Alexa Mikhail,
Flow Space,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Christine, 53, now tells PEOPLE about her hesitancy to return to the series that made her family household names.—
Dory Jackson,
PEOPLE,
26 Sep. 2025
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Educational research shows that spoken practice strengthens memory and reduces hesitancy more effectively than passive drills, which is why Airlearn places conversation at the core of its design.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The funding pause leaves many new homeowners in high-flood risk areas scrambling for protection and could halt the processing of current damage claims.—
Tamia Fowlkes,
jsonline.com,
6 Oct. 2025
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Contrast that with Robert Lewandowski, whose stutter, pause, judder, wait for the ’keeper to dive and then place it wide of the post didn’t work for Barcelona during their surprise defeat away to Sevilla a few hours later.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hesitance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hesitance. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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