reluctant
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Latin reluctāns, present participle of reluctor (“to struggle against, oppose, resist”), from re- (“back”) + luctor (“to struggle”).
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
reluctant (comparative more reluctant, superlative most reluctant)
- (now rare) Opposing; offering resistance (to).
- Template:RQ: Byron Don Juan
- 2008, Kern Alexander et al., The World Trade Organization and Trade in Services, page 222:
- They are reluctant to the inclusion of a necessity test, especially of a horizontal nature, and emphasize, instead, the importance of procedural disciplines [...].
- Not wanting to take some action; unwilling.
- She was reluctant to lend him the money
- Surprisingly, our new dog is a reluctant ball-retriever.
- (regular expressions) Tending to match as little text as possible.
- Antonym: greedy
SynonymsEdit
- (offering resistance to): refractory
- (not wanting to take some action): unwilling, disinclined
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
offering resistance to
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not wanting to take some action
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Further readingEdit
- “reluctant”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “reluctant”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- reluctant at OneLook Dictionary Search