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View synonyms for reluctant

reluctant

[ ri-luhk-tuhnt ]

adjective

  1. a reluctant candidate.

    Antonyms: willing

  2. struggling in opposition.


reluctant

/ rɪˈlʌktənt /

adjective

  1. not eager; unwilling; disinclined
  2. archaic.
    offering resistance or opposition
“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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Derived Forms

  • reˈluctantly, adverb
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Other Words From

  • re·luc·tant·ly adverb
  • half-re·luc·tant adjective
  • un·re·luc·tant adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of reluctant1

First recorded in 1655–65; from Latin reluctant- (stem of reluctāns ), present participle of reluctārī; reluct, -ant
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Word History and Origins

Origin of reluctant1

C17: from Latin reluctārī to resist; see reluct
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Compare Meanings

How does reluctant compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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Synonym Study

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.
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Example Sentences

Governments may become more reluctant to rely on other countries for strategic goods, such as masks and medicine or computer chips.

From Fortune

Officials were reluctant to take their pitch to investors in the bond market because of the uncertainty of future court battles.

City lawyers were confident that he was wrong but the uncertainty of court battles to come meant that the city was reluctant to take its pitch to investors in the bond market.

The uptick in cases in recent weeks has been blamed on social gatherings and travelers, but officials are reluctant to resort to the strict lockdowns imposed during the initial peak of the pandemic in March and April.

From Fortune

Other publishers are reluctant to help, either because they have their own subscriptions to promote or they are not sure if Scroll is going to succeed.

From Digiday

Some of the most explosive opportunities could be based around things that the Western world seems reluctant to adopt.

I was reluctant to ask anything too specific, because I felt like I would be asking for trouble!

But American officials remained reluctant to acknowledge it.

And if candidates on the ballot this year are reluctant to campaign alongside Sanders, they are not shy about taking his money.

Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln, begins the series reluctant and bitter.

It was difficult, with the mean appliances of the time, to wring subsistence from the reluctant earth.

He only tore himself from her reluctant arms as the final whistle sounded from the engine.

With this political subjection one is reluctant to associate a more sordid kind of obligation.

The woman seemed very reluctant to accept the offer, pleading various excuses.

The courts are still more reluctant to admit intoxication as an excuse for criminal acts.

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