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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of reluctance
Despite their generation’s overall reluctance to take on leadership roles at work, more Generation Z workers are starting to enter the ranks of management.
—
Mark C. Perna, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
Anderson addressed the continuing lack of opportunities for women behind the camera, and the industry’s overall reluctance to fund female directors.
—Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 23 May 2026
Still, ownership’s reluctance to a structure change (at least publicly) would complicate the team’s options.
—Alec Lewis, New York Times, 22 May 2026
There’s also a reluctance to become reliant on Nvidia’s chips on the Chinese side.
—Kai Nicol-Schwarz, CNBC, 15 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for reluctance
Mark C. Perna, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
Anderson addressed the continuing lack of opportunities for women behind the camera, and the industry’s overall reluctance to fund female directors.
—Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 23 May 2026
Still, ownership’s reluctance to a structure change (at least publicly) would complicate the team’s options.
—Alec Lewis, New York Times, 22 May 2026
There’s also a reluctance to become reliant on Nvidia’s chips on the Chinese side.
—Kai Nicol-Schwarz, CNBC, 15 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for reluctance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reluctance
Noun
-
On that song, Chapman laments about his unwillingness to evolve.—
Josh Crutchmer,
Rolling Stone,
24 May 2026
-
The first two signal the domestic draw that pulls her lover into her orbit, time and time again; the last, her unwillingness to be cowed when the powers that be come to threaten her—and her influence over the other characters, to resist the bootheel of the bully.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
Noun
-
Stepping straight into playoff hockey for the first time in his NHL career, Coghlan has played on instinct, with a surprising lack of hesitancy.—
Jesse Granger,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
-
Now on the Democratic side, at least when this began, there was hesitancy from Democrats, even about Newsom’s idea of fighting fire with fire.—
Hanna Rosin,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
There's a lot of reticence to step up again right now.—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
28 May 2026
-
The Berlin Film Festival has demonstrated reticence about addressing geopolitical matters, but Cannes leader Thierry Frémaux is showing no such hesitation, at least as regards the war in Ukraine.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
23 May 2026
Noun
-
Others, like Choi, believe that knowledge gaps are to blame for donor hesitance to get involved.—
Angelica Ang,
Fortune,
25 May 2026
-
After a pause for the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, social hesitance was still evident and masks were incorporated into some of the night's designs.—
Luis Giraldo,
CBS News,
4 May 2026
Noun
-
Nerves, doubt, and hesitation are normal and expected at this point in the process.—
Jonathan Carone,
Parents,
28 May 2026
-
Throughout the nearly four-week trial, defense attorneys have contended that the government cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that their clients intended to join a criminal racketeering conspiracy.—
Judy L. Thomas,
Kansas City Star,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
Culturally, the word is synonymous with ugly, not just for the ways lesbians defy traditional gender roles in the popular imagination but for their disinclination toward and unavailability to men.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 May 2026
-
The same disinclination would normally apply.—
Chicago Tribune,
Twin Cities,
30 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Reluctance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reluctance. Accessed 2 Jun. 2026.
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