1
as in reluctance
a lack of willingness or desire to do or accept something
his appointment to the superintendency was confirmed by the school board without the least hesitancy
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
his hesitancy in pulling over into the next lane while he had a chance resulted in him missing his exit
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hesitancy
Probing the reluctance to borrow A lot of the hesitancy comes down to fear of risk, Karlan says.
—
Fatma Tanis, NPR, 13 Dec. 2025
The guilt Grainier feels, and his growing sorrow at his own hesitancy to step up and defend a helpless person, changes the trajectory of Grainier’s life and also fits neatly into the film’s larger argument about how, on a broad scale, all of us are irrelevant.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2025
Fed officials — including Boston Fed President Susan Collins, who is a voter on policy moves this year — delivered remarks this week that have shown hesitancy to continue cutting rates.
—John Towfighi, CNN Money, 14 Nov. 2025
For her part, Udemy’s Weingarten says the dueling narratives of persistent worker hesitancy about AI and AI skills despite increasing enterprise AI adoption fit into Thursday’s findings.
—Jared Perlo, NBC news, 13 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hesitancy
Fatma Tanis, NPR, 13 Dec. 2025
The guilt Grainier feels, and his growing sorrow at his own hesitancy to step up and defend a helpless person, changes the trajectory of Grainier’s life and also fits neatly into the film’s larger argument about how, on a broad scale, all of us are irrelevant.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2025
Fed officials — including Boston Fed President Susan Collins, who is a voter on policy moves this year — delivered remarks this week that have shown hesitancy to continue cutting rates.
—John Towfighi, CNN Money, 14 Nov. 2025
For her part, Udemy’s Weingarten says the dueling narratives of persistent worker hesitancy about AI and AI skills despite increasing enterprise AI adoption fit into Thursday’s findings.
—Jared Perlo, NBC news, 13 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hesitancy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hesitancy
Noun
-
Regardless of the reason, the reluctance to approve of hunting for food but not trapping for fur sure seems arbitrary to me.—
Skye Goode,
Outdoor Life,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The film’s reluctance to reckon more fully with Bell’s role effectively shifts attention away from state power and toward interpersonal grievance.—
Beandrea July,
IndieWire,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Over time, this hesitation creates cognitive overload, last-minute scrambling and fewer growth opportunities for other leaders.—
Dilan Gomih,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
According to Tuff, what causes leaders to miss these paradigm shifts is not ignorance but hesitation.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
But the unwillingness to even take them, the same hesitance that Nance and most others believed was in the past, is hurting his overall game.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
16 Jan. 2026
-
After a little practice breathing through the tube and getting past her initial hesitance, Jenner puts her face into the water, and comes back up immediately, her hair stuck to her skin.—
Marci Robin,
Allure,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The White House didn't immediately respond to a query seeking clarity about the scope and timing of any limited pause.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Jan. 2026
-
As the officers back away from Pretti, there’s a pause in shooting that lasts just under a second, according to an analysis of the shooting audio by Robert Maher, an audio forensic expert at Montana State University.—
Yahya Abou-Ghazala,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hesitancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hesitancy. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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