reticence
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reticence
- /ˈɹɛtɪs(ə)ns/ UK
- /ˈɹɛtəs(ə)ns/ US
- /-ɾə-/ US
Where it comes from
The noun is borrowed from Middle French réticence (“act of keeping silent, silence; reserve; aposiopesis”) (modern French réticence (“tight-lippedness, reticence”)), or derived from its etymon Latin reticentia (“act of keeping silent, silence; aposiopesis”), from reticēns (“keeping silent, reticent, silent; keeping secret, concealing”) + -ia (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). Reticēns is the present active participle of reticeō (“to keep silent; to keep secret, conceal”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + taceō (“to be silent, keep quiet”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tak- or *tHk-). The English word is cognate with Italian reticenza (“reticence”), Portuguese reticência, Spanish reticencia (“reticence; reluctance”).
The verb is derived from the noun.
noun reticences · reticense
-
Avoidance of saying or reluctance to say too much; discretion, tight-lippedness; (countable) an instance of acting in this manner.
[Y]ou paſſe ouer their teſtimonies, & his whole diſcourſe out of them, with a fraudulent reticence of the particulars, and thinke to be euen with them, making vp by ſcoffing, what you cannot by arguing, [...]
Similar: reserve, taciturnity
-
A silent and reserved nature.
The determined reticence of Jasper, however, was not to be so approached. Impassive, moody, solitary, resolute, so concentrated on one idea, and on its attendant fixed purpose, that he would share it with no fellow-creature, he lived apart from human life.
Similar: introversion, reservation, bashfulness, demureness, diffidence, reluctance, quietness, reticence, shyness, sheepishness, timidity · Opposite: ostentation, chattiness, diarrhea of the mouth, garrulity, garrulousness, logorrhea, logorrhoea, loquaciousness, loquacity, multiloquence, talkativeness, talkativity
- Followed by of: discretion or restraint in the use of something. This is the reticence of temperament, and we see it in children from quite an early age—those children who are trusted by the servants, and are their favourites in consequence, because they tell no tales; but it is a disposition that may become dangerous unless watched, and that is always liable to
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Often followed by to: hesitancy or reluctance (to do something).
According to Anthony & Astorga (1997), the CATIE collection suffers the loss of some 250 individuals every year, which amounts to a general genetic erosion rate of 3% (4.8% for the wild genotypes). The expense of maintaining these collections, as well as the reticence of sponsors to finance such act
Similar: disinclination, hesitation
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Synonym of aposiopesis (“an abrupt breaking-off in speech”).
If the Comteſſe de la Motte, contented to load me with opprobrious language, and to make uſe of inſidious reticences, does not accept of this formal challenge, I muſt declare to her, once for all, that I ſhall give to all her reticences, to all her obloquy, paſt, preſent, and to come, an anſwer very
Similar: aposiopesis
verb reticences · reticencing · reticenced · reticense
-
To deliberately not listen or pay attention to; to disregard, to ignore.
[Percy Bysshe] Shelley, a true vates, was called upon by their divine influence to render some choice passages from this very Faust, which, from confessed inability, [Francis Leveson-]Gower had left unattempted in his precious version, and some which from other motives he had purposely reticensed.
Similar: pass over
Translations
Every language
noun avoidance of saying or reluctance to say too much
| Español | reticencia |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 寡黙 |
| हिन्दी | अल्पभाषिता alpabhāṣitā, मितभाषिता mitbhāṣitā |
| Português | reticência |
| Français | réticence |
| Deutsch | Reserviertheit, Schweigsamkeit |
| Italiano | reticenza |
| Ελληνικά | εχεμύθεια echemýtheia |
| Русский | молчаливость molčalivostʹ, немногословность nemnogoslovnostʹ |
noun silent and reserved nature
| Deutsch | Zurückhaltung |
|---|---|
| Ελληνικά | σιωπηλότητα siopilótita |
| Русский | сде́ржанность sdéržannostʹ |
noun discretion or restraint in the use of something
| Русский | сде́ржанность sdéržannostʹ |
|---|
noun hesitancy or reluctance
| Español | reticencia |
|---|---|
| Português | reticência |
noun aposiopesis
| Español | reticencia |
|---|
Talk about this word "reticence." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/reticence. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. reticence. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/reticence "reticence." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/reticence.Cite this
@misc{reticence_2026,
title = {reticence},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/reticence},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
