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
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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
his hesitancy in pulling over into the next lane while he had a chance resulted in him missing his exit
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hesitancy
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
This hesitancy is common, Travers said, because people may be fearful of being judged or of having their trauma follow them later in life.
—Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 18 Oct. 2025
Yet Trump’s mercurial nature has given other presidential scholars, who cited the president’s six-month journey to even suggest that Vance and Rubio were in the running to succeed him, some hesitancy.
—Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 18 Oct. 2025
Junior Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton has struggled to lift his team from their habit of first-half hesitancy, starting slow in each of their SEC games so far this year.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hesitancy
Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 27 Oct. 2025
This hesitancy is common, Travers said, because people may be fearful of being judged or of having their trauma follow them later in life.
—Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 18 Oct. 2025
Yet Trump’s mercurial nature has given other presidential scholars, who cited the president’s six-month journey to even suggest that Vance and Rubio were in the running to succeed him, some hesitancy.
—Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 18 Oct. 2025
Junior Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton has struggled to lift his team from their habit of first-half hesitancy, starting slow in each of their SEC games so far this year.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hesitancy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hesitancy
Noun
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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
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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
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So there's no hesitation in that regard.—
EW Staff,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Nov. 2025
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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
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The judge continued to echo his hesitance following the reveal and shared an Instagram Stories post posing the question for fans.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
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Now, there is some reason for hesitance here, mainly because Raymond could be playing with a rotating cast on his line’s left wing this season.—
Max Bultman,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
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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
“Hesitancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hesitancy. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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