reticent
disposed to be silent or not to speak freely; reserved.
reluctant or restrained.
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Origin of reticent
1Other words for reticent
Opposites for reticent
Other words from reticent
- ret·i·cence, ret·i·cen·cy, noun
- ret·i·cent·ly, adverb
- non·ret·i·cent, adjective
- non·ret·i·cent·ly, adverb
- un·ret·i·cent, adjective
- un·ret·i·cent·ly, adverb
Words that may be confused with reticent
- reluctant, reticent
Words Nearby reticent
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use reticent in a sentence
The fewer women who take companies public, the more reticent the check writers are, because they may have never seen somebody like you.
Bumble gave women more power in dating. Now the app is giving women power in the boardroom. | Jena McGregor | February 5, 2021 | Washington PostNew hires are more hesitant to say they don’t understand their responsibilities or reticent to ask how to do certain tasks via Zoom versus in person.
The technological hurdles of onboarding new employees in a pandemic | Chris Morris | January 18, 2021 | FortuneNext, the researchers plan to expand their survey to understand why people are reticent about the vaccine.
Unfortunately, they have also been far too reticent on the need for better access to medicine.
Big Pharma’s new CEOs must step up to erase inequities in drug access | matthewheimer | December 15, 2020 | FortuneIn contrast to generally more reticent American producers, who rarely go on the record on this subject, Lloyd Webber seems willing to talk about his efforts for as long as there is battery life in a recording device.
Andrew Lloyd Webber believes in the imminent return of Broadway and the West End. That’s all he asks of you. | Peter Marks | December 4, 2020 | Washington Post
When asked to evaluate his own work, Leigh was a little more reticent.
Mike Leigh Is the Master Filmmaker Who Hates Hollywood | Nico Hines | October 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhen it comes to his own role in the story, Tomlinson is surprisingly reticent.
Back home in New Orleans, Donovan is reticent and Pleasant is reflective, but neither man fit in.
'Fives and Twenty-Fives' Is Fiction Honed in a Combat Zone | Brian Castner | August 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTPresident James Madison, at the time closely allied with Thomas Jefferson, was not reticent about discussing wealth inequality.
A Founding Father Profit Sharing Fix for Inequality | Joseph Blasi | July 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd, unlike most of the men on this show, that small fact has made him reticent to start a relationship with his new protégé.
Where ‘Mad Men’ Left Off: A Primer for Season Seven | Amy Zimmerman | April 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTJim, however, proved to be much more reticent than his friends deemed either necessary or agreeable.
The Floating Light of the Goodwin Sands | R.M. BallantyneIndeed, earlier that morning he had been closely questioned by the commandant, but had been equally reticent.
The Doctor of Pimlico | William Le QueuxLaura was inclined to be reticent, but Tanqueray drew her out by congratulating her on her popularity, on the way she kept it up.
The Creators | May SinclairSome of the foot pedestrians are said to have been less reticent about the lamp-posts.
But we all know that this is a subject on which scientific men are apt to be reticent.
Mystic London: | Charles Maurice Davies
British Dictionary definitions for reticent
/ (ˈrɛtɪsənt) /
not open or communicative; not saying all that one knows; taciturn; reserved
Origin of reticent
1Derived forms of reticent
- reticence, noun
- reticently, adverb
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
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