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
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 reluctance
Yes, but: Trump's patience with Putin's reluctance over the ceasefire may be wearing thin.
—
Avery Lotz, Axios, 31 Mar. 2025
Iran's reluctance to deal with Trump likely also takes root in his ordering the attack that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a Baghdad drone strike in January 2020.
—Arkansas Online, 31 Mar. 2025
Trade, diplomacy and cultural exchanges continued even in periods marked by reluctance to intervene militarily.
—Andrew Latham, JSTOR Daily, 27 Mar. 2025
The post, however, did not offer an explanation for the groom's family's reluctance to attend.
—Rachel Raposas, People.com, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reluctance
Avery Lotz, Axios, 31 Mar. 2025
Iran's reluctance to deal with Trump likely also takes root in his ordering the attack that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a Baghdad drone strike in January 2020.
—Arkansas Online, 31 Mar. 2025
Trade, diplomacy and cultural exchanges continued even in periods marked by reluctance to intervene militarily.
—Andrew Latham, JSTOR Daily, 27 Mar. 2025
The post, however, did not offer an explanation for the groom's family's reluctance to attend.
—Rachel Raposas, People.com, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reluctance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reluctance
Noun
-
At least one legislator expressed hesitancy during a Senate committee vote Wednesday about the legislation’s expansive footprint.—
Christine Condon,
Baltimore Sun,
30 Mar. 2025
-
Concerns about data quality, compliance and the rapid pace of AI advancements have created hesitancy, particularly when AI is hastily deployed into customer-facing applications.—
Sumit Johar,
Forbes.com,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Political uncertainty historically leads to consumer reticence—a reluctance to buy and an impulse to hoard savings.—
Corey Buhay,
Outside Online,
24 Mar. 2025
-
The problem is the school’s reticence to accept transfers at large scale and lack of desire to play the NIL game.—
Jon Wilner,
Mercury News,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Dasha led the melodic charge with short phrases that captured the character’s hesitance.—
Tom Roland,
Billboard,
8 Apr. 2025
-
That could indicate a hesitance to cut rates because lower rates can give inflation more fuel.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
On Sunday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. met with the families of two girls who had died from measles in West Texas—and raised doubts about the safety of vaccines.—
Tom Bartlett,
The Atlantic,
10 Apr. 2025
-
Some of the Supreme Court’s conservatives have cast doubts about the precedent in recent years.—
Zach Schonfeld,
The Hill,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
On the contrary, these works form a trail of historical and imagined personalities, full of desires and disinclinations that misalign.—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
The Atlantic,
19 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
The source of hesitation is President Trump’s latest tariffs, which, as announced earlier this month, included a 46% tax on imports from Vietnam, the country’s eighth-largest trading partner.—
Stephanie Yang,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Apr. 2025
-
Studies show that financial trauma can lead to avoidance behaviors, chronic underinvestment, and hesitation in wealth-building strategies even among women who appear financially stable on paper.—
Alejandra Rojas,
Forbes.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Reluctance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reluctance. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share