reluctant

[ ri-luhk-tuhnt ]

/ rɪˈlʌk tənt /

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adjective

unwilling; disinclined: a reluctant candidate.

struggling in opposition.

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OPPOSITES FOR reluctant

1 willing.

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Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of reluctant

First recorded in 1655–65; from Latin reluctant- (stem of reluctāns ), present participle of reluctārī; see reluct, -ant

synonym study for reluctant

1. Reluctant, loath, averse describe disinclination toward something. Reluctant implies some sort of mental struggle, as between disinclination and sense of duty: reluctant to expel students. Loath describes extreme disinclination: loath to part from a friend. Averse, used with to and a noun or a gerund, describes a long-held dislike or unwillingness, though not a particularly strong feeling: averse to an idea; averse to getting up early.

OTHER WORDS FROM reluctant

re·luc·tant·ly, adverbhalf-re·luc·tant, adjectiveun·re·luc·tant, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH reluctant

reluctant , reticent

Words nearby reluctant

relocator, rel. pron., relucent, reluct, reluctance, reluctant, reluctantly, reluctate, reluctivity, relume, relumine

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use reluctant in a sentence

Governments may become more reluctant to rely on other countries for strategic goods, such as masks and medicine or computer chips.
After $20 trillion in pandemic relief spending, there’s still no sign of inflation. What happened?|Bernhard Warner|August 25, 2020|Fortune
Officials were reluctant to take their pitch to investors in the bond market because of the uncertainty of future court battles.
Morning Report: The Deal Before the 101 Ash St. Deal|Voice of San Diego|August 24, 2020|Voice of San Diego
City lawyers were confident that he was wrong but the uncertainty of court battles to come meant that the city was reluctant to take its pitch to investors in the bond market.
The Deal Before the 101 Ash St. Debacle Helps Explain How We Got Here|Lisa Halverstadt and Jesse Marx|August 24, 2020|Voice of San Diego
The uptick in cases in recent weeks has been blamed on social gatherings and travelers, but officials are reluctant to resort to the strict lockdowns imposed during the initial peak of the pandemic in March and April.
Europe is at a turning point as COVID cases spike, and fragile governments feel the heat|Bernhard Warner|August 20, 2020|Fortune

Other publishers are reluctant to help, either because they have their own subscriptions to promote or they are not sure if Scroll is going to succeed.
Inside Tony Haile’s expedition to (help) save the news business |Steven Perlberg|July 27, 2020|Digiday
Some of the most explosive opportunities could be based around things that the Western world seems reluctant to adopt.
Silicon Valley Sets Its Sights on Africa|Christian Borys|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I was reluctant to ask anything too specific, because I felt like I would be asking for trouble!
Christopher Nolan Uncut: On ‘Interstellar,’ Ben Affleck’s Batman, and the Future of Mankind|Marlow Stern|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But American officials remained reluctant to acknowledge it.
Spies Warned White House: Don’t Hit Al Qaeda in Syria|Shane Harris, Jamie Dettmer|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And if candidates on the ballot this year are reluctant to campaign alongside Sanders, they are not shy about taking his money.
Bernie Sanders Is Showing Us the Socialist Way to Run for President|David Freedlander|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln, begins the series reluctant and bitter.
The Walking Dead’s Luke Skywalker: Rick Grimes Is the Perfect Modern-Day Mythical Hero|Regina Lizik|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was difficult, with the mean appliances of the time, to wring subsistence from the reluctant earth.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
He only tore himself from her reluctant arms as the final whistle sounded from the engine.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
With this political subjection one is reluctant to associate a more sordid kind of obligation.
King Robert the Bruce|A. F. Murison
The woman seemed very reluctant to accept the offer, pleading various excuses.
The World Before Them|Susanna Moodie
The courts are still more reluctant to admit intoxication as an excuse for criminal acts.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles

British Dictionary definitions for reluctant

reluctant

/ (rɪˈlʌktənt) /

adjective

not eager; unwilling; disinclined

archaic offering resistance or opposition

Derived forms of reluctant

reluctantly, adverb

Word Origin for reluctant

C17: from Latin reluctārī to resist; see reluct

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

reluctant

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OPPOSITES FOR reluctant

Origin of reluctant

synonym study for reluctant

OTHER WORDS FROM reluctant

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH reluctant

Words nearby reluctant

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How to use reluctant in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for reluctant

Derived forms of reluctant

Word Origin for reluctant