as in unwillingness
a lack of willingness or desire to do or accept something
the mice showed an odd reluctance to eat the cheese we had put out for them
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of reluctance
However, like his predecessor, the Pope’s reluctance to fully embrace LGBTQ+ reforms demonstrates how, in the Catholic Church, progressiveness can still be relative.
—
Abby Monteil, Them., 2 Sep. 2025
From early stereotypical portrayals to today’s more authentic and complex narratives, the series highlights how Black television makers have not only survived but thrived, despite the industry’s early reluctance to fully recognize their power and creativity.
—Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 1 Sep. 2025
Owner Jerry Jones' reluctance to negotiate with the pass-rusher's agent was a pivotal moment in the negotiations, which led us to this point.
—Orlando Silva, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025
Despite her reluctance to get married, Agnes has already seen that at her deathbed she will be surrounded by two children.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reluctance
Abby Monteil, Them., 2 Sep. 2025
From early stereotypical portrayals to today’s more authentic and complex narratives, the series highlights how Black television makers have not only survived but thrived, despite the industry’s early reluctance to fully recognize their power and creativity.
—Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 1 Sep. 2025
Owner Jerry Jones' reluctance to negotiate with the pass-rusher's agent was a pivotal moment in the negotiations, which led us to this point.
—Orlando Silva, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025
Despite her reluctance to get married, Agnes has already seen that at her deathbed she will be surrounded by two children.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reluctance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reluctance
Noun
-
Encountering an unwillingness to listen or engage.—
Julie Kratz,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
-
Other women told similar stories of the unwillingness of people in their community to help them.—
Walter S. DeKeseredy,
The Conversation,
25 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
My main hesitancy is the baby registry.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
30 Aug. 2025
-
Inundated with protests and newfound hesitancy following the Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania, the company ceased construction a year later.—
Marissa Meador,
IndyStar,
21 Aug. 2025
Noun
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As a result, no one can be blamed for approaching this latest entry in the multibillion-dollar franchise with reticence.—
Simon Thompson,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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But the reticence evolved after that rule change and as the industry broadened its shareholder base.—
Leslie Picker,
CNBC,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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This history of volatility, paired with a high stock price, contributes to investor hesitance.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
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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
Noun
-
There is no doubt, for example, that Moyes needed another midfielder.—
Patrick Boyland,
New York Times,
4 Sep. 2025
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The beautiful ambivalence and mystery of Virgil’s own poetic art has both an aesthetic and a quasi-political function, in teaching the reader to remain in a cognitive place of doubt.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The author’s own disinclination toward literary experiment likely stemmed from a belief that the social demanded more moral attention than the psychological.—
Thomas Mallon,
New Yorker,
30 June 2025
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Its weakness is an intermittent lack of vulnerability and an occasional disinclination to leave all of that behind and pull out individual characters who have figured out that their travails flow from the difficulty of stopping American family life from turning into a Sam Shepard play.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
That hesitation quickly fled when the mask began to dry and tighten on the skin.—
Abby Dupes,
StyleCaster,
5 Sep. 2025
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So is the hesitation, the concern for consequence, and the mid-match questioning of how she is supposed to play.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Reluctance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reluctance. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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