as in hesitatingly
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Recent Examples of hesitantly
Only the bravest walked hesitantly toward the well.
—
Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2026
The show has dipped its toe hesitantly into matters of equity and social stratification this season with mixed results.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
As Garfield hesitantly moves forward with his campaign, he is forced to align with Chester Arthur (Nick Offerman), who unexpectedly becomes his running mate, and with the domineering but highly influential Senator Roscoe Conkling (Shea Whigham).
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 6 Nov. 2025
His crossing has often been a source of frustration, sometimes ballooning the ball too often, taking too long to put it into the area or cutting back on himself hesitantly.
—Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
The clip shows the massive American bully hesitantly backing away from a tiny, energetic puppy.
—Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Sep. 2025
Adam asks Conrad to take care of his brother, and Conrad hesitantly agrees.
—Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2026
The show has dipped its toe hesitantly into matters of equity and social stratification this season with mixed results.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
As Garfield hesitantly moves forward with his campaign, he is forced to align with Chester Arthur (Nick Offerman), who unexpectedly becomes his running mate, and with the domineering but highly influential Senator Roscoe Conkling (Shea Whigham).
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 6 Nov. 2025
His crossing has often been a source of frustration, sometimes ballooning the ball too often, taking too long to put it into the area or cutting back on himself hesitantly.
—Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
The clip shows the massive American bully hesitantly backing away from a tiny, energetic puppy.
—Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Sep. 2025
Adam asks Conrad to take care of his brother, and Conrad hesitantly agrees.
—Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hesitantly
Adverb
-
Lines of hundreds of guests snaked around the inside of the department store (which takes up an entire city block in Manhattan), with onlookers snapping photos quizzically.—
Anika Reed,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Daedone looked at me quizzically.—
Thessaly La Force,
New Yorker,
29 Aug. 2025
Adverb
-
Kizzi adds to his act by pretending to be a devoted fan while V looks on incredulously.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Bea incredulously finds out that Christy has been involved in a treasure hunt for years now, believing that there is a million dollars hidden somewhere in the state, planning and plotting her methods of finding it, and Christy is finally setting her plan in motion.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Espinoza responded, holding up his hands questioningly.—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Some lawmakers view Trump’s order skeptically at best, noting the administration has been removing guardrails, and preventing others from erecting them, to an extreme degree.—
Darius Tahir,
USA Today,
18 Feb. 2026
-
The announcement should be treated skeptically.—
David A. Graham,
The Atlantic,
12 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hesitantly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hesitantly. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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