1
as in silent
given to keeping one's activities hidden from public observation or knowledge
the panel decided to investigate the fraud charges against the company, which has always been reticent about its internal operations
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in reserved
tending not to speak frequently (as by habit or inclination)
her husband is by nature a reticent person, and she resigned herself to that fact long ago
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in reluctant
slow to begin or proceed with a course of action because of doubts or uncertainty
understandably, she's reticent about becoming involved with another evangelical religious sect
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of reticent
State and local officials were reticent to weigh in on what the mortgage sale could mean for the Fiserv deal.
—
Taylor O’Connor, Kansas City Star, 30 May 2025
Among the three, the Raptors have an accurate but reticent 3-point shooter (Ingram), an average shooter at OK frequency (Barrett) and a bad one (Barnes).
—Eric Koreen, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2025
Short of a large-scale threat to its homeland or the collapse of its military, a nuclear-armed state will likely remain reticent to deploy nuclear weapons against a nonnuclear rival.
—Paul Avey, Foreign Affairs, 6 Mar. 2025
But his administration is hardly reticent about denouncing other countries’ internal conduct.
—Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for reticent
Taylor O’Connor, Kansas City Star, 30 May 2025
Among the three, the Raptors have an accurate but reticent 3-point shooter (Ingram), an average shooter at OK frequency (Barrett) and a bad one (Barnes).
—Eric Koreen, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2025
Short of a large-scale threat to its homeland or the collapse of its military, a nuclear-armed state will likely remain reticent to deploy nuclear weapons against a nonnuclear rival.
—Paul Avey, Foreign Affairs, 6 Mar. 2025
But his administration is hardly reticent about denouncing other countries’ internal conduct.
—Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for reticent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reticent
Adjective
-
With 66 distinct incidents logged between January and late June, the state has had reports of an array of mysterious aerial objects, ranging from glowing orbs and silent triangles to fast-moving disks and shape-shifting lights.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
7 July 2025
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Thus far, however, Tesla’s board has remained largely silent throughout Musk’s period of political activity.—
Christiaan Hetzner,
Fortune,
7 July 2025
Adjective
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Tillman, who is generally more reserved than spotlight-chasing players in his role, strode up and shanked his attempt off the post to his left, perhaps hampered by the foul on his plant leg.—
Jeff Rueter,
New York Times,
30 June 2025
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The reserved Federal lands and interests in lands encompass approximately 0.12 acres.—
Liz Tracey,
JSTOR Daily,
24 June 2025
Adjective
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The band is reluctant to get into too many other details of Lydon’s behavior on that tour.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
12 July 2025
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Our evaluation might be incorrect, and investors may be reluctant to assign a higher valuation to P&G due to its recent decline in sales.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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Besides those aided by conductors in the secretive social network, many other freedom seekers traveled on their own.—
Susan DeGrane,
Chicago Tribune,
8 July 2025
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Over 100 Roman Catholic cardinals, including one from Ohio, will gather in the Sistine Chapel and begin the secretive voting process.—
Alex Perry,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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These moves have prompted concern among segments of Trump's base supportive of a restrained international role, raising questions about the administration's direction ahead of a crucial 2026 midterm election cycle.—
Nick Mordowanec,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 July 2025
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As Rick, Goggins got to show longtime fans and incoming members of his fan club a rarer side of the actor: quiet, restrained, in deep amounts of unspoken pain.—
Josh Wigler,
HollywoodReporter,
8 July 2025
Adjective
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Yet Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) – which leads Germany’s coalition government – is hesitant.—
Sophie Tanno,
CNN Money,
6 July 2025
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His defense at second base is also still evolving, too, which accentuates why the Astros are hesitant to summon him.—
Chandler Rome,
New York Times,
4 July 2025
Adjective
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This silhouette features a quiet confidence through and through-bold, clean lines take the main stage on this pair.—
Robyn Mowatt,
Essence,
9 July 2025
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The dock is still quiet, save for the sound of rigging and the familiar smell of salt air.—
Wyles Daniel,
USA Today,
9 July 2025
Adjective
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Ratajkowski has been fighting the stereotype of the dumb model from the beginning of her career.—
Daniel Jackson,
Allure,
18 July 2017
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Ninety nine percent of all NFL players are explicitly not dumb.—
Andy Benoit,
The MMQB,
10 July 2017
Cite this Entry
“Reticent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reticent. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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