reluctant

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reluctant

/ɹɪˈlʌktənt/

Where it comes from

Learned borrowing from Latin reluctāns (whence -ant), present participle of reluctor (“to struggle against, oppose, resist”), from re- (“back”) + luctor (“to struggle”) (whence re-.

adjective more reluctant · most reluctant

Not wanting to take some action; unwilling to do something. She was reluctant to lend him the money
Similar: disinclined, loath, grudging
archaic Contrary; defiant; refractory. Whence we must infer, that the least stir of tumult or rebellion against the Prince is reluctant to all the Ordinances of Heaven, is an abortive product of Hell against the pure dictates of nature […]
Tending to match as little text as possible.
Opposite: greedy

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: loath, disinclined, loth, unwilling, uneager, averse, grudging, recalcitrant, reserved, reticence, hesitant, reticent, irresolute, timid, questionable, dubious

Translations

Every language

adj not wanting to take some action

Español	renuente, reacio, reluctante, reticente, renitente, rezongón
한국어	싫어하다 sireohada
日本語	嫌がる iyagaru, 嫌な iya na
中文	不情願 /不情愿 bù qíngyuàn
Português	relutante
Français	réticent, rétif, récalcitrant, réfractaire
Deutsch	zögernd, widerwillig, widerstrebend
Italiano	riluttante
Română	reticent
Русский	неохо́тный neoxótnyj, нежела́ющий neželájuščij
Tiếng Việt	miễn cưỡng

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MLA

"reluctant." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/reluctant. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

reluctant. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/reluctant

Chicago

"reluctant." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/reluctant.

BibTeX

@misc{reluctant_2026,
  title = {reluctant},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/reluctant},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}