Synonyms for reluctant
rɪˈlʌk təntre·luc·tant

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:2.3 / 3 votes

1. reluctantadjective

   Synonyms:
   disinclined, unwilling

2. reluctantadjective

   Opposing; offering resistance (to).

   Synonyms:
   unwilling, disinclined

3. reluctantadjective

   Not wanting to take some action; unwilling.

   She was reluctant to lend him the money

   Synonyms:
   disinclined, unwilling

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. reluctant

   Reluctant (Latin re, back, and lucto, strive, struggle) signifies struggling against what one is urged or impelled to do, or is actually doing; averse (Latin a, from, and verto, turn) signifies turned away as with dislike or repugnance; loath (Anglo-Saxon lath, evil, hateful) signifies having a repugnance, disgust, or loathing for, tho the adjective loath is not so strong as the verb loathe. A dunce is always averse to study; a good student is disinclined to it when a fine morning tempts him out; he is indisposed to it in some hour of weariness. A man may be slow or backward in entering upon that to which he is by no means averse. A man is loath to believe evil of his friend, reluctant to speak of it, absolutely unwilling to use it to his injury. A legislator may be opposed to a certain measure, while not averse to what it aims to accomplish. Compare ANTIPATHY.

   Synonyms:
   averse, backward, disinclined, indisposed, loath, opposed, slow, unwilling

   Antonyms:
   desirous, disposed, eager, favorable, inclined, willing

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. reluctant

   Synonyms:
   averse, unwilling, disinclined, loth, backward

   Antonyms:
   willing, inclined, eager, forward

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:3.7 / 3 votes

1. loath, loth, reluctantadjective

   unwillingness to do something contrary to your custom

   "a reluctant smile"; "loath to admit a mistake"

   Synonyms:
   loth(p), indisposed(p), loath, loath(p), averse(p), loth, antipathetic, antipathetical

   Antonyms:
   eager, inclined(p), willing

2. reluctantadjective

   disinclined to become involved

   "they were usually reluctant to socialize"; "reluctant to help"

   Synonyms:
   loth, loath

   Antonyms:
   willing, eager, inclined(p)

3. reluctantadjective

   not eager

   "foreigners stubbornly reluctant to accept our ways"; "fresh from college and reluctant for the moment to marry him"

   Synonyms:
   loth, loath

   Antonyms:
   eager, inclined(p), willing

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. reluctantadjective

   Synonyms:
   unwilling, loath, averse, backward, disinclined, indisposed, not disposed

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:3.0 / 1 vote

1. reluctantadjective

   Synonyms:
   disinclined, unwilling, averse, loath, indisposed

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "reluctant":

   unwilling, reticent, hesitant, loath, recalcitrant, resistant, refractory

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How to use reluctant in a sentence?

1. Matthew McLaughlin:

   The courts, rightly or wrongly, treat the initiative as sort of the citizen right, and they are reluctant to get involved in trying to get rid of it, at least in advance, by using the law to keep something from being presented to the electorate.

2. Tyrone Parker:

   The culture of our communities has been reluctant to support or work with the police by virtue of the treatment and the behavior that has occurred within our community, there's a distrust. It has developed into a code of conduct within our communities.

3. Mark Sawyer:

   It will be a couple of years before M&A comes back, as traditional lenders and equity capital markets get more cautious and more reluctant to invest, then they of course create a vacuum.

4. Karim Yousfi:

   Few expected fireworks from a report that focuses on the final months of election and Brexit uncertainty, so this is more a case of not good, but good enough. With a clear majority of the Bank of England's interest rate-setting grandees already reluctant to cut rates, this GDP print will give them no impetus to cut any time soon.

5. Kelly Estes:

   He was aggressive to both of them. He was reluctant to give his name, he was definitely not friendly.