loath

or loth

[ lohth, lohth ]

/ loʊθ, loʊð /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR loath ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

unwilling; reluctant; disinclined; averse: to be loath to admit a mistake.

Nearby words

Origin of loath

before 900; Middle English loth, lath, Old English lāth hostile, hateful; cognate with Dutch leed, German leid sorry, Old Norse leithr hateful

SYNONYMS FOR loath

See reluctant.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR loath ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR loath

eager.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR loath ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsloath·ness, nouno·ver·loath, adjectiveun·loath, adjectiveun·loath·ly, adverb

Can be confusedloath loathe loathsome

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for loath

These officials, however, are loath to talk about him on the record.
Israel Bombs Gaza While Hamas’ Kidnapping Mastermind Sits in Turkey|Eli Lake|July 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Washington, in particular, has been loath to do anything that might escalate.
Is North Korea Collecting American Hostages?|Kyle Mizokami|June 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Perhaps they're loath to identify themselves with a worldview that leaves so little room for nuance.
Welcome to Glenn Greenwald, Inc.?|Lloyd Grove|February 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Was the studio just loath to finance a $200 million R-rated film?
Guillermo Del Toro on ‘Cabinet of Curiosities,’ Collaborating with Kanye West, and More|Marlow Stern|November 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The city was often loath to change companies, in part because it feared the disruption that canceling their routes might cause.
New York City Bus Strike: A Cosy Cartel, Running Out of Gas|Megan McArdle|January 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
They were loath to sacrifice such advantages for the sake of joining hands with "Papists and monarchists."
Belgium|Emile Cammaerts
Wake me at midnight, Chet said, not at all loath to give his partner a bit of work.
The Trail Boys on the Plains|Jay Winthrop Allen
One who is always digging dugouts is loath to leave the habitation which has cost him much labor in order to live in the open.
My Second Year of the War|Frederick Palmer
But they still clung to the dwindling Swamp, for it was their home and they were loath to move to foreign parts.
Wild Animals I Have Known|Ernest Thompson Seton
When the forms were locked up and the next day's assignment made, the office force was loath to separate.
Comrade Yetta|Albert Edwards

British Dictionary definitions for loath

loath

loth

/ (ləʊθ) /

adjective

(usually foll by to) reluctant or unwilling

nothing loath willing

Derived Formsloathness or lothness, noun

Word Origin for loath

Old English lāth (in the sense: hostile); related to Old Norse leithr

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for loath

loath

adj.

Old English lað "hated; hateful; hostile; repulsive," from Proto-Germanic *laithaz (cf. Old Saxon, Old Frisian leth "loathsome," Old Norse leiðr "hateful, hostile, loathed;" Middle Dutch lelijc, Dutch leelijk "ugly;" Old High German leid "sorrowful, hateful, offensive, grievous," German Leid "sorrow;" French laid "ugly," from Frankish *laid), from PIE root *leit- "to detest."

Weakened meaning "averse, disinclined" is attested from late 14c. Loath to depart, a line from some long-forgotten song, is recorded since 1580s as a generic term expressive of any tune played at farewells, the sailing of a ship, etc. Related: Loathness.

loath

or loth

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of loath

Examples from the Web for loath

British Dictionary definitions for loath

loath

loth

adjective

Word Origin for loath

Word Origin and History for loath

loath