tentativeness
noun
ten·ta·tive·ness
ˈten-tə-tiv-nəs 
: the quality or state of being tentative or hesitant : hesitancy, uncertainty
heard a tentativeness in her voice
… we also have trouble comprehending the meaning of "hope" as that word is used in the New Testament; for us the term always seems to include an element of uncertainty and tentativeness.—
Herbert W. Chilstrom
Herbert W. ChilstromExamples of tentativeness in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
There’s a tentativeness to Bohmer’s comic outlandishness.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2024
His performance that night was hardly a home run, but Biden’s tentativeness was understandable.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 24 June 2024
But when actually called upon to sing and dance while wearing a magenta velvet frock coat and top hat, Chalamet displays the tentativeness of someone who only recently emerged from the prelapsarian bliss of childhood into an adolescent’s awareness of the possibility of being embarrassed.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 8 Mar. 2024
What also stood out last season, though, was his surprising tentativeness on some plays.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 30 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for tentativeness 
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Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2024
His performance that night was hardly a home run, but Biden’s tentativeness was understandable.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 24 June 2024
But when actually called upon to sing and dance while wearing a magenta velvet frock coat and top hat, Chalamet displays the tentativeness of someone who only recently emerged from the prelapsarian bliss of childhood into an adolescent’s awareness of the possibility of being embarrassed.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 8 Mar. 2024
What also stood out last season, though, was his surprising tentativeness on some plays.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 30 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for tentativeness
Dictionary Entries Near tentativeness
Cite this Entry
“Tentativeness.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tentativeness. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
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