Hesitant Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

The meaning of HESITANT is slow to act or proceed (as from fear, indecision, or unwillingness) : tending to hesitate : showing or feeling reluctance or ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut hesitant adjective SaveWord hes·​i·​tant |\ˈhe-zə-tənt \ Definitionofhesitant :slowtoactorproceed(asfromfear,indecision,orunwillingness):tendingtohesitate:showingorfeelingreluctanceorhesitation tookahesitantsteptowardsthedoorhesitantaboutacceptingthejob OtherWordsfromhesitant Synonyms&Antonyms ChoosetheRightSynonym MoreExampleSentences PhrasesContaininghesitant LearnMoreAbouthesitant OtherWordsfromhesitant hesitantly adverb Synonyms&Antonymsforhesitant Synonyms cagey(alsocagy),disinclined,dubious,indisposed,loath(alsolothorloathe),reluctant,reticent Antonyms disposed,inclined VisittheThesaurusforMore  ChoosetheRightSynonymforhesitant disinclined,hesitant,reluctant,loath,aversemeanlackingthewillordesiretodosomethingindicated.disinclinedimplieslackoftastefororinclination. disinclinedtomoveagain disinclinedforreading hesitantimpliesaholdingbackespeciallythroughfearoruncertainty. hesitantaboutaskingforadate reluctantimpliesaholdingbackthroughunwillingness. areluctantwitness loathimplieshesitancybecauseofconflictwithone'sopinions,predilections,orliking. seemsloathtotrustanyone averseimpliesaholdingbackfromoravoidingbecauseofdistasteorrepugnance. aversetohardwork notaversetoanoccasionaldrink ExamplesofhesitantinaSentence Shetookahesitantstepbackfromthedoor. Heseemshesitantaboutacceptingthejob. RecentExamplesontheWeb Whenanevacuationvehiclearrivesforthem,residentsaresometimeshesitanttoleavehomequickly. — WashingtonPost,7May2022 Foreignentrepreneursusuallystartwiththeirethniccommunitiesandarehesitanttobeproactiveinnetworkbuilding. — Yec,Forbes,5May2022 BratairsoutherissueswithJudywhilerecordinghernewmusic,buttherapperishesitanttoletherlovehearthenewmaterialuponherrequest. — DoryJackson,PEOPLE.com,5May2022 However,someofficialsarehesitanttopaymonetaryreparationstothevictimsandtheirfamiliesseekingrestitution. — KendallRoss,ABCNews,3May2022 Butdoctorshavebeenhesitanttoprescribeit,givenweakevidencethatthedrugslowstheprogressionofAlzheimer's. — CBSNews,3May2022 But—ashasbecomeevidentmorethanayearandahalfintotheU.S.vaccinationcampaign—oneessentialpieceofinformationismissing:Howtoconvincehesitantpeopletobevaccinated. — NBCNews,2May2022 AlleyesareontheMetGalatowatchdesignerspushtheenvelopeoffashion,buteyesarealsowatchingahistoricallyexclusivefashionindustrythat'sprovenitselfhesitanttopushtowardinclusion. — HannahYasharoff,USATODAY,2May2022 SignsofweaknessineconomicgrowthorthelabormarketcouldmakeFedofficialshesitanttotightenfinancialconditionsasaggressivelyasinvestorsnowproject. — MattGrossman,WSJ,1May2022 SeeMore Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'hesitant.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. PhrasesContaininghesitant vaccinehesitant vaccinehesitant FirstKnownUseofhesitant 1647,inthemeaningdefinedabove HistoryandEtymologyforhesitant seehesitate LearnMoreAbouthesitant Sharehesitant PosttheDefinitionofhesitanttoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofhesitantonTwitter TimeTravelerforhesitant Thefirstknownuseofhesitantwas in1647 Seemorewordsfromthesameyear DictionaryEntriesNearhesitant hesitancy hesitant hesitate SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforhesitant LastUpdated 11May2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Hesitant.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hesitant.Accessed14May.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforhesitant hesitant adjective hes·​i·​tant |\ˈhe-zə-tənt \ KidsDefinitionofhesitant :feelingorshowingunwillingnesstodosomethingbecauseofdoubtornervousness Iwashesitanttojoinin. OtherWordsfromhesitant hesitantly adverb Tobyread…hesitantly,asifhedidn'treallybelievewhathewassaying…—ZilphaKeatleySnyder,TheEgyptGame MorefromMerriam-Websteronhesitant Nglish:TranslationofhesitantforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofhesitantforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY verdant SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary GreatWordsforScrabble WhichofthefollowingQ-without-Uwordsmeansthenumberfiveincardsordice? tranq cinq kamotiq qigong Testyourvocabularywithour10-questionquiz! TAKETHEQUIZ Adailychallengeforcrosswordfanatics. TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! Merriam-Websterunabridged WordsatPlay WhataHoot! 15birdsounds,andthebirdswhomakethem GreatBigListofBeautiful&UselessWords Alongwiththeirdegreesofusefulness What'stheDifference? Wordsthatshouldn'tbeusedinterchangeably WordsForThingsYouDidn'tKnowHaveNames When'thingamajig'and'thingamabob'justwon'tdo AsktheEditors EndingaSentencewithaPreposition Anold-fashionedrulewecannolongerputupwith. 'AllIntensivePurposes'or'AllIntentsandPurposes'? We'reintentonclearingitup 'Mispronunciations'ThatMayBeFine 'Mischievous,''nuclear,'andotherwordstopron... WhyDidYankeeDoodleCallaFeather'Macaroni'? What'swithhisfeatheredcap? WordGames FaceYourFears Don'tbescaredtoanswerthesequestionsaboutf... Takethequiz FigureOutTheseAcronymsASAP Youdon'thavetobeaNASAengineertogetthese... Takethequiz NameThoseHerbsandSpices Howmanydoyouknow? Takethequiz HowStrongIsYourVocabulary? Thefasteryouanswer,thehigheryourscore Takethequiz