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reserved

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verb

past tense of reserve

Synonym Chooser

How is the word reserved distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of reserved are reticent, secretive, silent, and taciturn. While all these words mean "showing restraint in speaking," reserved implies reticence and suggests the restraining influence of caution or formality in checking easy informal conversational exchange.

greetings were brief, formal, and reserved

When could reticent be used to replace reserved?

While the synonyms reticent and reserved are close in meaning, reticent implies a reluctance to speak out or at length, especially about one's own affairs.

was reticent about his plans

When would secretive be a good substitute for reserved?

In some situations, the words secretive and reserved are roughly equivalent. However, secretive, too, implies reticence but usually carries a suggestion of deviousness and lack of frankness or of an often ostentatious will to conceal.

the secretive research and development division

When is it sensible to use silent instead of reserved?

The meanings of silent and reserved largely overlap; however, silent implies a habit of saying no more than is needed.

the strong, silent type

Where would taciturn be a reasonable alternative to reserved?

While in some cases nearly identical to reserved, taciturn implies a temperamental disinclination to speech and usually connotes unsociability.

taciturn villagers

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of reserved
Adjective
Raised in Iowa and Nebraska, Carson built his career as a host of variety and game shows with an approachable ease, developing a reserved charisma that helped fuel the rise of his show as a gigantically influential program with a massive audience. Eric Deggans, NPR, 13 Oct. 2025 Eddie’s brashness contrasted with Gus’s more reserved nature, but their differences amused one another. Rob Rossi, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
Verb
McKennie, back with the national team for the first time since March, started as a central attacking midfielder, a position sometimes reserved for a clever playmaker. Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025 Add pasta, reserved 1/2 cup cooking water, and butter to Dutch oven and place over medium-high. Elizabeth Mervosh, Southern Living, 12 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for reserved
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reserved
Adjective
  • Later, when Doyle comes into some mysterious bags of cash, and heads toward the mainland with a bottle of booze, a boat, and one last chance to go out in a blaze of self-immolation, Farrell manages to mix dread and adrenaline into every silent expression.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2025
  • James Cook was kept relatively silent in this game with 87 yards on 17 carries.
    Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • He was substituted for the third time in the last six league games at Wolverhampton, Hurzeler avoiding the risk of a red card after the 21-year-old Cameroon international had been booked in the first half for a rash tackle.
    Andy Naylor, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
  • On April 9, authorities took a sample of DNA from Charon when he was booked into the Bexar County jail on charges of felony criminal mischief.
    KC Baker, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Palestinians were shifted from leading a liberation project to managing enclaves, while Israel retained control over their land, movement, and the map itself.
    Mohammed R. Mhawish, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2025
  • He was moved out of that role in 2004 after an overhaul of Disney’s TV operations, but still retained oversight of ABC News, ad sales and affiliate relations.
    Brian Steinberg, Variety, 14 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • In the half-century that followed, Bardot dedicated herself to animal rights through her Brigette Bardot Foundation.
    Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2025
  • The search for Egypt’s last queen For nearly 20 years, Martínez has dedicated her work to locating Cleopatra’s burial site, a mystery that has eluded archaeologists for centuries.
    Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • In DaCosta’s hands, Ibsen’s emotionally extreme but tonally restrained play becomes a spectacular, flamboyant melodrama, with physical action as intense as the characters’ inner worlds.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2025
  • That would include gun-violence restraining orders and domestic violence protective orders, which are among several kinds of orders that compel a restrained person to surrender firearms.
    Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 13 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Yes, if your lease states that a fine will be charged for windows that are kept open during the winter.
    Tamia Fowlkes, jsonline.com, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Potted hardy hibiscus can be overwintered indoors and kept at 55ºF with three hours of direct full sunlight a day.
    Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Having devoted a decade to his own music, Jakob Nowell felt up to the task when Sublime co-founders Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson invited him to collaborate with them in late 2023.
    George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Most of these patients devoted hours every day to managing their condition.
    Carrie Arnold, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • And, in one of the dumbest and most obviously racist postr taken by a presidential candidate, at some point Republicans became fixated on the idea that Haitian migrants were stealing pets for food in the Midwest.
    Sal Rodriguez, Oc Register, 18 Oct. 2025
  • After Johnson gave his answer to that resolutely dumb question, several other luminaries took a whack at the zeitgeist piñata.
    Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 17 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Reserved.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reserved. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.

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