reluctant
Americanadjective
-
not eager; unwilling; disinclined
-
archaic offering resistance or opposition
Related Words
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 Word Forms
- half-reluctant adjective
- reluctantly adverb
- unreluctant adjective
Etymology
Origin of reluctant
First recorded in 1655–65; from Latin reluctant- (stem of reluctāns ), present participle of reluctārī; reluct, -ant
Compare meaning
How does reluctant compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
The recent single 2Sided depicts a night where Parks was reluctant to leave the house; only finding motivation in the chance she'd bump into her crush.
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
Gulf officials said the U.A.E. believes countries in Asia and Europe that are reluctant now would help clear the strait with the blessing of the U.N.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
Similarly, the memory-chip market is severely undersupplied, but manufacturers that were once reluctant to add capacity are now securing clean-room space.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026
The context was the crisis in the eurozone and the role he was pressing on a reluctant Germany was an economic, not a military one.
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
After trekking through the night, Mutti must have been as exhausted as we all were, but she was reluctant to stop each morning.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
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.
