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reluctant

[ri-luhk-tuh nt]
See more synonyms for reluctant on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. unwilling; disinclined: a reluctant candidate.
  2. struggling in opposition.
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Origin of reluctant

1655–65; < Latin reluctant- (stem of reluctāns), present participle of reluctārī. See reluct, -ant
Related formsre·luc·tant·ly, adverbhalf-re·luc·tant, adjectivehalf-re·luc·tant·ly, adverbun·re·luc·tant, adjectiveun·re·luc·tant·ly, adverb
Can be confusedreluctant reticent (see synonym study at the current entry)reticent reluctant

Synonyms

See more synonyms for reluctant on Thesaurus.com
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.

Antonyms

1. willing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for unreluctantly

Historical Examples

  • The vicomte's allies drew away, not unreluctantly; and the two engaged.

    The Grey Cloak

    Harold MacGrath

  • He gives it me unreluctantly, I know, but I am always loth to apply to him.

    New Grub Street

    George Gissing

  • Now I know—my heart knows it, for it has felt it—that she resigns herself to me unreluctantly.

    Shirley

    Charlotte Bront

  • A magistrate is wanted; they will, in time, invest him with the office voluntarily and unreluctantly.

    Shirley

    Charlotte Bront

  • Leslie looked off in front of her to verify the statement, and unreluctantly settled down on the little sofa to rest awhile.

British Dictionary definitions for unreluctantly

reluctant

adjective
  1. not eager; unwilling; disinclined
  2. archaic offering resistance or opposition
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Derived Formsreluctantly, adverb

Word Origin

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

Word Origin and History for unreluctantly

reluctant

adj.

"unwilling," 1660s, from Latin reluctantem (nominative reluctans), present participle of reluctari (see reluctance). Related: Reluctantly. Cf. Spanish reluchante, Italian riluttante.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper