as in reluctance
a lack of willingness or desire to do or accept something
the publisher's reticence to make content available online for free
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Recent Examples of reticence
That reticence could conceivably involve suppressing concerns about how the U.S. military’s increasing involvement in domestic missions is placing strains on resources and readiness.
—
Risa Brooks, Foreign Affairs, 8 Apr. 2025
The city’s reticence, per the emails, centered around its request to view the records of antisemitic incidents in Boston that were referenced in Terrell’s letter to Wu.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 22 Apr. 2025
The reticence from Goldman was particularly jarring given that last week several major Wall Street chieftains, including Jamie Dimon, head of JPMorgan Chase, and BlackRock’s Larry Fink, were more direct in their assessment of the turmoil.
—Rob Copeland, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
Although so highly esteemed, the notoriously taciturn director would often frustrate his colleagues by his reticence to explain his directorial intentions.
—Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 10 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reticence
Risa Brooks, Foreign Affairs, 8 Apr. 2025
The city’s reticence, per the emails, centered around its request to view the records of antisemitic incidents in Boston that were referenced in Terrell’s letter to Wu.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 22 Apr. 2025
The reticence from Goldman was particularly jarring given that last week several major Wall Street chieftains, including Jamie Dimon, head of JPMorgan Chase, and BlackRock’s Larry Fink, were more direct in their assessment of the turmoil.
—Rob Copeland, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
Although so highly esteemed, the notoriously taciturn director would often frustrate his colleagues by his reticence to explain his directorial intentions.
—Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 10 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reticence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reticence
reluctance
Noun
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Although inquiries are strong, the path to wider adoption is slow due to strict price constraints and a general reluctance from brands to take risks.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
22 May 2025
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Wade on Butler On his podcast, Heat legend Dwyane Wade addressed an issue with Jimmy Butler that occasionally surfaced during his time with the Heat: a perplexing reluctance to shoot in some games.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
21 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Reticence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reticence. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.
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