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
To be sure, there are valid strategic reasons for his reluctance.
—
Karim Sadjadpour, The Atlantic, 16 Jan. 2026
Six prosecutors resigned over the DOJ’s push to investigate Good’s widow and its reluctance to investigate the shooter, the New York Times reported.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 15 Jan. 2026
Meanwhile, this week six federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned over a push by the Justice Department to investigate Good’s widow and the department’s reluctance to investigate the agent who fired the shots, The New York Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the decision.
—Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
The Tigers have been known for their reluctance to tap into the transfer market, taking five transfers in the last five years combined.
—Sam Khan Jr, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for reluctance
Karim Sadjadpour, The Atlantic, 16 Jan. 2026
Six prosecutors resigned over the DOJ’s push to investigate Good’s widow and its reluctance to investigate the shooter, the New York Times reported.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 15 Jan. 2026
Meanwhile, this week six federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned over a push by the Justice Department to investigate Good’s widow and the department’s reluctance to investigate the agent who fired the shots, The New York Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the decision.
—Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
The Tigers have been known for their reluctance to tap into the transfer market, taking five transfers in the last five years combined.
—Sam Khan Jr, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for reluctance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reluctance
Noun
-
In discussion panels, this was framed as an unwillingness to trust AI, as well as doubt that governments have the ability to steer us through these times of political and economic uncertainty.—
Bernard Marr,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Kikuchi, for her part, imbues the character with dimensions by turns gentle and thorny, but Haru’s unwillingness to meaningfully confront her loss is a blind spot that ends up applied to the story as a whole.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
There are plenty of directions the franchise could go, but a hesitancy to commit to anything more than one-off stories.—
Richard Newby,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Jan. 2026
-
Big money’s hesitancy Wall Street hasn’t jumped on board with the same fervor as the average Joe.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
25 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
That reticence may well have helped to diminish his reputation; indeed, his contribution has been largely eclipsed by that of his eldest son, the abstract painter and sculptor Ben Nicholson.—
The Week UK,
TheWeek,
8 Jan. 2026
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Still, the focus on Venezuela could help distract from Putin’s reticence to strike a deal with Ukraine.—
Yuliya Talmazan,
NBC news,
8 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
-
There is little doubt that this is a rapidly developing field and that there are tremendous upsides to be had, but at the same time, regrettably, hidden risks and outright gotchas come into these endeavors, too.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
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Analysts worry delays or cuts in Taipei could fuel doubts in Washington about Taiwan's resolve to defend itself.—
Ashish Valentine,
NPR,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The same disinclination would normally apply.—
Chicago Tribune,
Twin Cities,
30 Nov. 2025
-
Beauty’s at-times reluctance to embrace TikTok Shop as a channel mirrors the industry’s longtime disinclination toward Amazon, an attitude that has shifted in recent years as the e-commerce giant’s beauty business has grown at an incontrovertible clip.—
Noor Lobad,
Footwear News,
11 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Reluctance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reluctance. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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