hesitant
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- hesitance noun
- hesitantly adverb
- nonhesitant adjective
- nonhesitantly adverb
- unhesitant adjective
- unhesitantly adverb
Etymology
Origin of hesitant
First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin haesitant-, stem of haesitāns “faltering,” present participle of haesitāre “to falter, hesitate,” literally, “to stick repeatedly,” from haerēre “to stick, cling”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
You know, I’m not really hesitant to share things, and I don’t need a character to hide behind.
From Los Angeles Times
The country has been struggling with an ongoing property crisis and rising local government debt, which has made businesses more hesitant to invest and consumers cautious about spending.
From BBC
The culprit: Cost-conscious businesses turned hesitant about adding new workers due to tariff uncertainties and used artificial intelligence to drive productivity.
The industry has faced a slowdown in 5G spending as some major customers completed initial rollouts of the technology while network operators have also been hesitant to invest amid an uncertain economic outlook.
"Meanwhile, low to moderate income consumers were seen to be increasingly price sensitive and hesitant to spend on nonessential goods and services," the survey added.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
