reluctance

[ri-luhk-tuh ns]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR reluctance ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

unwillingness; disinclination: reluctance to speak in public.

Electricity. the resistance to magnetic flux offered by a magnetic circuit, determined by the permeability and arrangement of the materials of the circuit.

Sometimes re·luc·tan·cy.

Origin of reluctance

First recorded in 1635–45; reluct(ant) + -ance

Related formspre·re·luc·tance, noun

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

Related Words for reluctancy

conscience, compunction, anxiety, hesitation, reluctance, censor, twinge, difficulty, demur, pause, uneasiness, qualm, perplexity, caution, hesitancy, superego, reconsideration, faltering, reluctancy

Examples from the Web for reluctancy

Historical Examples of reluctancy

The two men bowed, Richard with reluctancy, the Captain with easy bonhomie.
The Black Moth
Georgette Heyer
But oh, with what reluctancy did I feel myself obliged to consume time in sleep!
The Palm Tree Blessing
W. E. Shepard
Or he may deprive himself of some lesser advantages in life by his reluctancy in putting himself forward.
Martine's Hand-book of Etiquette, and Guide to True Politeness
Arthur Martine
Hiding his reluctancy, Cooper left his seat and advanced toward the doorway.
The Substitute Prisoner
Max Marcin

British Dictionary definitions for reluctancy

reluctance

less commonly reluctancy

noun

lack of eagerness or willingness; disinclination

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

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 reluctancy

reluctance

1640s, "act of struggling against," from obsolete verb reluct "to struggle or rebel against" (1520s), from Latin reluctari "to struggle against, resist, make opposition," from re- "against" (see re-) + luctari "to struggle, wrestle," perhaps shares a common origin with Greek lygos "pliant twig," lygizein "to bend, twist," Old English locc "twist of hair" (see lock (n.2)). Meaning "unwillingness" is first attested 1660s. Related: Reluctancy (1620s.).