reserved
Americanadjective
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kept or set apart for some particular use or purpose.
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kept by special arrangement for some person.
a reserved seat.
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formal or self-restrained in manner and relationship; avoiding familiarity or intimacy with others.
a quiet, reserved man.
- Synonyms:
- composed, cold, distant, withdrawn, taciturn, constrained, reticent, controlled
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characterized by reserve, as the disposition, manner, etc..
reserved comments.
- Synonyms:
- composed, cold, distant, withdrawn, taciturn, constrained, reticent, controlled
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retaining the original color of a surface, especially when decorating portions of the surface with other colors.
adjective
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set aside for use by a particular person or people
this table is reserved
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cool or formal in manner; restrained, silent, or reticent
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destined; fated
reserved for great things
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referring to matters that are the responsibility of the national parliament rather than a devolved regional assembly
defence is a reserved issue
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of reserved
A late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at reserve, -ed 2
Explanation
If you're reserved, you're the opposite of a loudmouth or a cut-up: you're polite, you have a lot of self-control, and you don't show your feelings. Reserved can also mean "set aside." If your seats at a concert are reserved, that means they're saved for you. If there aren't any reserved seats — if it's all general admission — you should get there early to get a good seat.
Vocabulary lists containing reserved
The Great Gatsby
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The Bill of Rights
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"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Over the first two days at Aronimink, with the more severe aspects of the course set-up generating much discussion, it felt more like the brutal examination usually reserved for the US Open.
From BBC • May 16, 2026
Major financial backers Britain, France, Germany and Italy have reserved slots in the final, alongside the hosts, Austria, making up the 25 finalists.
From Barron's • May 16, 2026
A legal maneuver once reserved for death row inmates and suspected terrorists has become the only recourse for immigrant detainees, who have flooded federal courts in California with thousands of petitions for freedom.
From Los Angeles Times • May 9, 2026
Now that friction is spilling into commencement, a ceremony long reserved for good cheer.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026
But besides his frequent absences, there was another barrier to friendship with him: he seemed of a reserved, an abstracted, and even of a brooding nature.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
