as in unwillingness
a lack of willingness or desire to do or accept something
the mice showed an odd reluctance to eat the cheese we had put out for them
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of reluctance
Meanwhile, some ski industry observers say Vail's reluctance to increase patroller pay was part of a larger pattern of greed in a business largely controlled by two companies in North America: Vail, which runs 42 ski resorts worldwide, and the smaller Alterra, which operates 12.
—
Erin Alberty, Axios, 9 Jan. 2025
Policy missteps by the central government—such as its reluctance to bail out local governments and rein in shadow banking and capital markets—have intensified the fiscal pressure on the Chinese economy, triggering liquidity crises for giant real estate developers.
—Jude Blanchette, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
About half of all business owners express reluctance to hire victims of the conflict, defined as anyone who suffered collective or individual damage from the armed conflict, and 78% would not employ former combatants.
—Mie Hoejris Dahl, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Jan. 2025
The bigger issue is the Sox’s continued reluctance to spend big.
—Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for reluctance 
Erin Alberty, Axios, 9 Jan. 2025
Policy missteps by the central government—such as its reluctance to bail out local governments and rein in shadow banking and capital markets—have intensified the fiscal pressure on the Chinese economy, triggering liquidity crises for giant real estate developers.
—Jude Blanchette, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
About half of all business owners express reluctance to hire victims of the conflict, defined as anyone who suffered collective or individual damage from the armed conflict, and 78% would not employ former combatants.
—Mie Hoejris Dahl, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Jan. 2025
The bigger issue is the Sox’s continued reluctance to spend big.
—Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for reluctance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reluctance
Noun
-
Participant hesitancy creates a real disadvantage when trying to communicate openly, develop an understanding of a person or situation, or negotiate effectively.—
Jason Foodman,
Forbes,
17 Jan. 2025
-
The timing of their pressing was off because of their hesitancy to press high.—
Charlotte Harpur,
The Athletic,
16 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Such reticence was already present during Trump’s first term.—
Peter Schroeder,
Foreign Affairs,
17 Jan. 2025
-
This posture may have at least made some political sense in the early days of the war, but Netanyahu soon understood that Biden's reticence to restrain him had the effect of legitimizing blind vengeance as policy.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
16 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Edwards is not a natural lob thrower, and his hesitance to throw the ball to Gobert in traffic put a ceiling on the Timberwolves offense.—
Jon Krawczynski,
The Athletic,
22 Apr. 2024
-
This hesitance came courtesy of Putin, who attended the Bucharest conference and lobbied NATO to reject Kyiv’s bid.—
Andriy Zagorodnyuk,
Foreign Affairs,
1 June 2023
Noun
-
Beyond any doubt, his response would have been laughter—not surprise.—
Robert Pinsky,
The New Yorker,
30 Jan. 2025
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The future of The Watcher has been in serious doubt after its co-creator Ryan Murphy moved his overall deal to Disney in 2023.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
30 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Members praise – and sometimes complain about – his willingness to listen and his disinclination toward conflict.—
Riley Beggin,
USA TODAY,
17 Jan. 2025
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Cui said that disinclination is partly because high existing household savings would necessitate a cash infusion of hundreds of billions of dollars to have a notable effect.—
Stephanie Yang,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Oct. 2024
Noun
-
This hesitation is likely due to concerns over potential legal liability if Trump reverses course and enforces the ban afterall.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes,
22 Jan. 2025
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Does the Trump administration find my hesitation valid and a reason for creating exceptions?—
Justin Gest,
Newsweek,
20 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near reluctance
Cite this Entry
“Reluctance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reluctance. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
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