tentative
English · Français · Deutsch · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
tentative
- /ˈtɛntətɪv/
- /ˈtɛntəʔɪf/
- /ˈtɛntəhɪf/
Where it comes from
From Medieval Latin tentātīvus (“trying, testing”), from tentō, past participle tentātus (“to try, test”); see tent, tempt.
noun tentatives
- A trial; an experiment; an attempt.
- A schedule for an event or a programme.
adjective more tentative · most tentative
- Of or pertaining to a trial or trials; essaying; experimental.
- Uncertain; subject to future change. He gave a tentative answer, unsure of the final outcome.
- Restrained; polite; feeling one's way, not using full force. Her tentative steps showed her nervousness as she entered the room.
Opposite: conclusive, definitive, certain
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: provisionary, conditional, probationary, doubtful, unsettled, provisional, experimental, project, introductory, pretrial, indicative, preliminary, illustrative, exploratory, stopgap, stop-gap
adjective
Opposite: conclusive, definitive, certain
Translations
Every language
adj of or pertaining to a trial or trials; essaying; experimental
| Español | tentativo, provisional, experimental, de tanteo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 잠정적 jamjeongjeok |
| Português | experimental |
| Deutsch | vorläufig, Versuchs-, experimentell, provisorisch, probierend, Probe- |
| Русский | эксперимента́льный eksperimentálʹnyj, про́бный próbnyj, о́пытный ópytnyj |
adj uncertain
| Español | provisional, provisorio, preliminar, indeciso, tentativo |
|---|---|
| Português | provisório |
| Français | provisoire, approximatif |
| Deutsch | vorläufig, provisorisch, unverbindlich, tentativ |
| Русский | предположи́тельный predpoložítelʹnyj, предвари́тельный predvarítelʹnyj, предполага́емый predpolagájemyj, ориентиро́вочный orijentiróvočnyj, вре́менный vrémennyj, приме́рный primérnyj |
adj restrained
| Deutsch | zurückhaltend, zaghaft, zögernd, zögerlich, tastend, vorfühlend |
|---|
Talk about this word "tentative." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tentative. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. tentative. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tentative "tentative." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tentative.Cite this
@misc{tentative_2026,
title = {tentative},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tentative},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
