tentative

1 of 2

adjective

ten·​ta·​tive ˈten-tə-tiv 

1

: not fully worked out or developed

tentative plans

2

: hesitant, uncertain

a tentative smile

tentative

2 of 2

noun

plural tentatives

: something that is uncertain or subject to change : something that is tentative

In war, certainties have a way of becoming tentatives.

—The Buffalo (New York) News

Seventy-nine shows have contracts to use the center between now and 2010, with 129 booked with either contracts pending or as tentatives.

—Keith Reed

Did you know?

A "Tentative" Explanation

Tentative is from the Latin tentare (“to attempt”), and its original meaning was “attempted, provisional, experimental.” It is easy to see how this emphasis on trial and error led to the word’s current sense “not fully worked out or developed” (as in "a tentative date," "tentative plans," "a tentative job offer"). The “hesitant, uncertain” sense that is also common nowadays (as in “a tentative knock on the door”) extends the idea of an unripe attempt to the uncertain emotional state of the person making the attempt.

Synonyms

Adjective

• conditional
• contingent (on or upon)
• dependent
• subject (to)

Examples of tentative in a Sentence

Adjective

In the winter, retirees from the Midwest fill the trailer parks. They are known with tentative affection as snowbirds. —William Langewiesche, Atlantic, June 1992

Clearly the President was chastened by the sorrow and resentment of the people to whom he spoke, but his words were somehow tentative and contingent, as if they could be withdrawn on a month's notice. —Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, July 1992

There was a crying need, in the tentative early days of populist toryism, for a voice that could bring the gospel to the lumpen. —Christopher Hitchens, Times Literary Supplement, 30 Nov. 1990

Thus, we have a tentative picture of anatomically modern people arising in Africa over 100,000 years ago, but initially making the same tools as Neanderthals and having no advantage over them. By perhaps 60,000 years ago, some magic twist of behavior had been added to the modern anatomy. —Jared M. Diamond, Discover, May 1989

the baby's first tentative steps

We have tentative plans for the weekend.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

My biggest question coming out of USC’s Big Ten hoops debut last week was how Saint Thomas — a player many, including Eric Musselman, believed could be the Trojans’ best, most versatile playmaker this season — suddenly looked so tentative as a scorer. —Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec. 2024

Blackwood’s performance aside, the chasm between the Sharks and the NHL’s elite teams remains wide, a fact not aided by San Jose’s sometimes tentative play. —Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 7 Dec. 2024

Back in the past, Claire and Lord John seem to have reached a tentative equilibrium. —Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 6 Dec. 2024

The tentative nature of the detection didn’t stop Liang Fu (opens a new tab) of MIT and Constantin Schrade of Louisiana State University from trying to explain it (opens a new tab). —Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 6 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

borrowed from Medieval Latin tentātīvus "as a trial, experimental, provisional," from Latin temptātus, tentātus, past participle of temptāre, tentāre "to feel, test, examine" + īvus -ive — more at tempt

Noun

derivative of tentative entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

1825, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1893, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

tentative

adjective

ten·​ta·​tive ˈtent-ət-iv 

1

: not fully worked out or developed

tentative plans

2

: hesitant, uncertain

a tentative smile

tentatively adverb