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
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of reluctance
Meanwhile, some ski industry observers say Vail's reluctance to increase patroller pay was part of a larger pattern of greed in a business largely controlled by two companies in North America: Vail, which runs 42 ski resorts worldwide, and the smaller Alterra, which operates 12.
—
Erin Alberty, Axios, 9 Jan. 2025
Policy missteps by the central government—such as its reluctance to bail out local governments and rein in shadow banking and capital markets—have intensified the fiscal pressure on the Chinese economy, triggering liquidity crises for giant real estate developers.
—Jude Blanchette, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
About half of all business owners express reluctance to hire victims of the conflict, defined as anyone who suffered collective or individual damage from the armed conflict, and 78% would not employ former combatants.
—Mie Hoejris Dahl, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Jan. 2025
The bigger issue is the Sox’s continued reluctance to spend big.
—Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for reluctance 
Erin Alberty, Axios, 9 Jan. 2025
Policy missteps by the central government—such as its reluctance to bail out local governments and rein in shadow banking and capital markets—have intensified the fiscal pressure on the Chinese economy, triggering liquidity crises for giant real estate developers.
—Jude Blanchette, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
About half of all business owners express reluctance to hire victims of the conflict, defined as anyone who suffered collective or individual damage from the armed conflict, and 78% would not employ former combatants.
—Mie Hoejris Dahl, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Jan. 2025
The bigger issue is the Sox’s continued reluctance to spend big.
—Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for reluctance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reluctance
Noun
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Participant hesitancy creates a real disadvantage when trying to communicate openly, develop an understanding of a person or situation, or negotiate effectively.—
Jason Foodman,
Forbes,
17 Jan. 2025
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The timing of their pressing was off because of their hesitancy to press high.—
Charlotte Harpur,
The Athletic,
16 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The Golden State Warriors may feel that same reticence with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green in their mid-30s.—
Bryan Toporek,
Forbes,
29 Dec. 2024
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In his view, the reticence to communicate stems from the luxury industry’s historic focus on perfection in design, quality, finishing and store experience, whereas sustainability is an imperfect, perennial work-in-progress.—
Miles Socha,
WWD,
25 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Sahar Abi-Hassan, an assistant professor in political science at Northeastern University who studies the behavior of the Supreme Court, says the court might side with TikTok for several reasons, including its historical hesitance toward restricting speech.—
Lauren Feiner,
The Verge,
9 Jan. 2025
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Still, Zhu’s hesitance to speak about Shein’s exposure to Xinjiang at the hearing might have been born of pragmatic reasons, or perhaps even strategic ones.—
Jasmin Malik Chua,
Sourcing Journal,
7 Jan. 2025
Noun
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While there have already been glimpses of this in the past with former TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace and Joe Hendry, there's no doubt fans will see more of this, especially heading into the Royal Rumble.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
18 Jan. 2025
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Ben Davies is in contention to return for Tottenham Hotspur’s trip to Everton on Sunday, but Brennan Johnson and Yves Bissouma are injury doubts.—
Jay Harris,
The Athletic,
17 Jan. 2025
Noun
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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
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Horowitz’s disinclination to pay his bills has inspired complaints over the years, some on legal stationery.—
Tad Friend,
The New Yorker,
21 Oct. 2024
Noun
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This hesitation is likely due to concerns over potential legal liability if Trump reverses course and enforces the ban afterall.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes,
22 Jan. 2025
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Does the Trump administration find my hesitation valid and a reason for creating exceptions?—
Justin Gest,
Newsweek,
20 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near reluctance
Cite this Entry
“Reluctance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reluctance. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
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