hesitancy

[ hez-i-tuh n-see ]

/ ˈhɛz ɪ tən si /

hesitation; indecision or disinclination.

Words nearby hesitancy

Also hes·i·tance.

From the Latin word haesitantia, dating back to 1610–20. See hesitant, -ancy

pre·hes·i·tan·cy, noun, plural pre·hes·i·tan·cies.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

I asked Ferris if there was a bias or a hesitancy to recruit Native American kids.
Native American Basketball Team in Wyoming Have Hoop Dreams Of Their Own|Robert Silverman|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Rattner apologized for his hesitancy and “closed [his] eyes and jumped.”
Speed Read Steven Rattner's Tell-All|The Daily Beast|September 20, 2010|DAILY BEAST
This was partly, it seems, due to his own desire to finish school and his hesitancy to move out to Palo Alto.
Accidental Billionaires|Samuel P. Jacobs|July 16, 2009|DAILY BEAST
There was no time now for hesitancy; here was my cue, and I must plunge ahead, accepting the chances.
My Lady of the North|Randall Parrish

This hesitancy was a glaring testimony to the loose thinking and careless literary habits of those days.
History of Rationalism Embracing a Survey of the Present State of Protestant Theology|John F. Hurst
A day of inaction, an hour of hesitancy, might have been fatal.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. III, No. XVII, October 1851|Various
There was a pathetic hesitancy in her manner, the hesitancy of a weak woman who adheres to a purpose only by supreme effort.
Dope|Sax Rohmer
In spite of her smiling face, there was a slight doubt and hesitancy in her manner.
Jane Field|Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

hesitancy

[ hĕz′ĭ-tən-sē ]

An involuntary delay or inability in starting the urinary stream.