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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of reluctance
Part of the Spanish native’s reluctance to speak with reporters was his unease with English.
—
Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2025
His reluctance, according to a report Thursday by the Red Sox news site BoSox Injection, could open the door for another team to beat the Red Sox to the punch and sign Guerrero while Boston dithers over the size of his contract.
—Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025
Thanks to initial reluctance by Myanmar’s authoritarian government to permit aid, as well as concerns that the government was using the money to cement its hold on power, this tragedy missed its first-week rush of donations.
—Kelsey Piper, Vox, 15 Jan. 2025
Two years later, the ALU affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union (the Teamsters, as the documentary illustrates, initially displayed reluctance to back the longshot unionizing bid by Smalls and allies).
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 13 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for reluctance 
Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2025
His reluctance, according to a report Thursday by the Red Sox news site BoSox Injection, could open the door for another team to beat the Red Sox to the punch and sign Guerrero while Boston dithers over the size of his contract.
—Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025
Thanks to initial reluctance by Myanmar’s authoritarian government to permit aid, as well as concerns that the government was using the money to cement its hold on power, this tragedy missed its first-week rush of donations.
—Kelsey Piper, Vox, 15 Jan. 2025
Two years later, the ALU affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union (the Teamsters, as the documentary illustrates, initially displayed reluctance to back the longshot unionizing bid by Smalls and allies).
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 13 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for reluctance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reluctance
Noun
-
It’s been nearly a year since No Other Land debuted at the Berlin Film Festival, setting off a chain of hesitancy and urgency around films that address the ongoing conflict between Israeli and Palestine.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
23 Jan. 2025
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The internal review blamed privacy restrictions and staff hesitancy for their failure to quickly notify the president and other senior leaders about Austin’s hospitalization.—
Tara Copp and Lolita C. Baldor,
Los Angeles Times,
15 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
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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
-
If politicians continue to sow doubts about vaccination, or even take steps to restrict vaccine access, then the trend of re-emerging disease will continue.—
Lauren Leffer,
Popular Science,
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
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This hesitation could mean pharmaceutical companies are missing out on a major opportunity to connect with viewers, according to a new analysis by the TV outcomes firm EDO.—
Bruce Gil,
Quartz,
2 Feb. 2025
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Fran: One of the bigger stories out of this year’s Sundance has been distributors’ hesitation — whether due to lingering effects of the fires or buyers’ skepticism or some combination — to buy up the stronger films at the festival.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
31 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near reluctance
Cite this Entry
“Reluctance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reluctance. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.
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