definitions

reluctance

[ ri-luhk-tuh ns ]
/ rɪˈlʌk təns /
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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.

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RELATED WORDS

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

Nearby words

relocation, relocation costs, relocator, relucent, reluct, reluctance, reluctant, reluctate, reluctivity, relume, relumine
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

Examples from the Web for reluctancy

British Dictionary definitions for reluctancy

reluctance

less commonly reluctancy

/ (rɪˈlʌktəns) /

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

n.

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.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper