reluctance
Americannoun
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unwillingness; disinclination.
reluctance to speak in public.
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Electricity. the resistance to magnetic flux offered by a magnetic circuit, determined by the permeability and arrangement of the materials of the circuit.
noun
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lack of eagerness or willingness; disinclination
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physics a measure of the resistance of a closed magnetic circuit to a magnetic flux, equal to the ratio of the magnetomotive force to the magnetic flux
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of reluctance
First recorded in 1635–45; reluct(ant) + -ance
Explanation
Reluctance means "unwillingness." Your reluctance to travel on an airplane would be understandable if you glimpsed the pilot and copilot wearing party hats and blowing noisemakers. If you'd rather not do something, you feel a sense of reluctance about it. You pause for a moment, maybe to consider whether you should really go through with it, or just to enjoy the last moment before it happens. The word comes from the Latin reluctari, or to struggle against. There's always a struggle when reluctance is present, in that you feel pressure to do something or in not agreeing right away, someone is going to be disappointed.
Vocabulary lists containing reluctance
Coraline
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Boy: Tales of Childhood
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Stargirl
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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.
Reluctance to vaccinating the youngest children is likely fueled by the fact that COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in children are rare in the context of the broader pandemic — although they do occur.
From Washington Times • Jun. 15, 2022
Reluctance to travel, though, could mean an upswing in other sectors if the new variant is not as harmful as people fear.
From New York Times • Dec. 2, 2021
Reluctance in China about donating organs is related to a traditional belief that the body should remain "complete" after death, experts say.
From BBC • Jun. 25, 2018
Reluctance to admit the behavior, lack of witnesses, and in some cases the death of the driver all make it hard to collect full information, the agency says.
From Seattle Times • May 7, 2013
Reluctance in remunerating medical attendants was also manifested by the ancients; and Seneca has treated the subject at some length.
From Curiosities of Medical Experience by Millingen, J. G. (John Gideon)
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.
