tentative
Americanadjective
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of the nature of or made or done as a trial, experiment, or attempt; experimental.
a tentative report on her findings.
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unsure; uncertain; not definite or positive; hesitant.
a tentative smile on his face.
adjective
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provisional or experimental; conjectural
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hesitant, uncertain, or cautious
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tentative
First recorded in 1580–90; from Medieval Latin tentātīvus, equivalent to Latin tentāt(us) (past participle of tentāre, variant of temptāre “to test”; see tempt) + -īvus adjective suffix ( see -ive)
Explanation
Choose the adjective tentative to describe something you are unsure or hesitant about. On Monday, you can make tentative plans for the weekend, but it's too early to commit to one party or another. Tentative, from the Latin tentātīvus, "testing, trying," always describes something that is uncertain. If you make a tentative appointment, write it down in pencil, not pen, because it might have to be changed. Here the opposite of tentative is definite or set. If someone gives you a tentative smile or nod, the person feels hesitant or unsure about something. In this case, its opposite is confident.
Vocabulary lists containing tentative
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 4
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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Monster
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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.
“My work there has been halting, tentative and generally working around the fringes,” Chatfield wrote in a 1968 journal entry reflecting on the daunting task.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
She said at a press conference in Toronto that Unifor’s goal is to reach a tentative settlement with Stellantis without a strike.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Amazon, when reached for comment, said the Business Insider report was “speculative in nature and based on a tentative planning document.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
Much of the movement was therefore not from rejection to endorsement, but from strong rejection towards more tentative positions.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026
However, the difficulties besetting our task are so great that we cannot hope for more than tentative and incomplete answers.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
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.
