as in reluctance
a lack of willingness or desire to do or accept something
your unwillingness to help with the cooking means that you won't be sharing in the eating
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Recent Examples of unwillingness
Fed up with Tony’s bellicose style and an unwillingness to meaningfully negotiate, Deerfield Beach would have to start its own police force and fire-rescue service — a major undertaking that will take two years.
—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026
Disenchantment with the future – and an accompanying unwillingness to have kids – have at points become a rallying cry for people in China, in particular during the pandemic when the government mobilized stringent measures to stop the spread of the virus.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 1 Jan. 2026
Its unwillingness or inability to act in the face of the offensive brings home, more powerfully than anything else, just how much this branch of government has withered away in recent decades.
—Noah Feldman, Twin Cities, 24 Dec. 2025
The Rolling Stones will no longer embark on a planned, though never formally announced, 2026 stadium tour throughout Europe, owing to Keith Richards’s unwillingness to subject himself to the stress of such a rigorous schedule.
—Devon Ivie, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2025
Even Bush, despite his legendary stature in science policy then and now, left the White House just two years later, frustrated by Truman’s unwillingness to take his advice.
—Kenneth M. Evans, The Conversation, 17 Dec. 2025
The rulings highlight judges’ willingness to protect bettors’ right to wager and win but unwillingness to find betting companies responsible for the consequences of their marketing tactics.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 16 Dec. 2025
The unwillingness to mention China by name has consequences.
—Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
But experts are cynical that a breakthrough will materialize, citing the administration’s shallow diplomacy, Trump’s conflict of interests with the war’s international backers and the president’s seeming unwillingness to exert meaningful pressure.
—Laura Kelly, The Hill, 29 Nov. 2025
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026
Disenchantment with the future – and an accompanying unwillingness to have kids – have at points become a rallying cry for people in China, in particular during the pandemic when the government mobilized stringent measures to stop the spread of the virus.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 1 Jan. 2026
Its unwillingness or inability to act in the face of the offensive brings home, more powerfully than anything else, just how much this branch of government has withered away in recent decades.
—Noah Feldman, Twin Cities, 24 Dec. 2025
The Rolling Stones will no longer embark on a planned, though never formally announced, 2026 stadium tour throughout Europe, owing to Keith Richards’s unwillingness to subject himself to the stress of such a rigorous schedule.
—Devon Ivie, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2025
Even Bush, despite his legendary stature in science policy then and now, left the White House just two years later, frustrated by Truman’s unwillingness to take his advice.
—Kenneth M. Evans, The Conversation, 17 Dec. 2025
The rulings highlight judges’ willingness to protect bettors’ right to wager and win but unwillingness to find betting companies responsible for the consequences of their marketing tactics.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 16 Dec. 2025
The unwillingness to mention China by name has consequences.
—Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
But experts are cynical that a breakthrough will materialize, citing the administration’s shallow diplomacy, Trump’s conflict of interests with the war’s international backers and the president’s seeming unwillingness to exert meaningful pressure.
—Laura Kelly, The Hill, 29 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unwillingness
reluctance
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
Cite this Entry
“Unwillingness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unwillingness. Accessed 7 Jan. 2026.
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