Reluctant

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɹɪˈlÊŒktÉ™nt/

Origin

From Latin reluctans, present participle of reluctare, reluctari ("to struggle against, oppose, resist"), from re- ("back") + luctari ("to struggle").

Full definition of reluctant

Adjective

1. (now rare) Opposing; offering resistance (to).
• 1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, II.108:There, breathless, with his digging nails he clung
  Fast to the sand, lest the returning wave,
  From whose reluctant roar his life he wrung,
  Should suck him back to her insatiate grave ....
• 2008, Kern Alexander et al., The World Trade Organization and Trade in Services, p. 222:They are reluctant to the inclusion of a necessity test, especially of a horizontal nature, and emphasize, instead, the importance of procedural disciplines ....
2. Not wanting to take some action; unwilling.She was reluctant to lend him the money

Synonyms

• unwilling, disinclined

Related terms

• reluctance
• reluctantly