reluctantly

[ ri-luhk-tuhnt-lee ]

adverb

1. without really wanting to; unwillingly:

   I told her to take a break, just for one moment, and she reluctantly pulled away from her work.

Other Words From

• half-re·luc·tant·ly adverb
• un·re·luc·tant·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of reluctantly¹

reluctant ( def ) + -ly

Example Sentences

“Reluctantly, feeling a little sick, I have to say, because I wasn't absolutely sure, but I said OK,” she said.

From BBC

Jonathan Tippins from Barry said: "As a Welsh speaker I am happy to watch the Rugby on S4C, but I always watch the sport with non Welsh speaking friends and family, so reluctantly I’ve paid for TNT."

From BBC

Far too many voters drifted away or fell asleep by the second slide and concluded — reluctantly, in many cases — that given the options, smashing things sounded like a lot more fun.

From Salon

The first season introduced Russell’s Kate Wyler as a seasoned foreign service officer who has her sights set on taking a post in Afghanistan but is reluctantly enlisted by the White House to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom in order to quietly prep her to become vice president.

From Los Angeles Times

The singer and songwriter with the Olympic-athlete-level voice was already a Grammy-winning superstar when she reluctantly took her record label’s suggestion to make a holiday album.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• carefully
• cautiously
• hesitantly
• unwillingly
• warily