reluctant

Intermediatezipf 3.81

Pronunciation

/rɪˈlʌktənt/(rih-LUK-tunt)

Part of speech

adjectiveneutral

Chinese

不情愿的；勉强的（内心有抵触）

Definition

Unwilling and hesitant; disinclined to do something.

Word family

  • reluctance/rɪˈlʌktəns/(n)不情愿
  • reluctantly/rɪˈlʌktəntli/(adv)勉强地

Collocations

  • reluctant to admit
  • reluctant agreement
  • seem reluctant
  • reluctant hero

Examples

  1. 1.She was reluctant to admit her mistake. (unwilling)
  2. 2.He gave a reluctant nod of approval. (hesitant)

Synonyms

  • hesitant/ˈhɛzɪtənt/— unsure, less resistance
  • unwilling/ʌnˈwɪlɪŋ/— direct refusal
  • disinclined/ˌdɪsɪnˈklaɪnd/— formal, lacking desire

Etymology

from Latin "reluctari" = to struggle against — fighting against doing it