reticence

ret·i·cent

 (rĕt′ĭ-sənt)

adj.

1. Inclined to keep one's thoughts, feelings, and personal affairs to oneself. See Synonyms at laconic.

2. Restrained or reserved: "The laughter was steady, if reticent" (Bernard Lown).

3. Usage Problem Reluctant; unwilling.

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[Latin reticēns, reticent-, present participle of reticēre, to keep silent : re-, re- + tacēre, to be silent.]

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ret′i·cence (-səns) adv.

ret′i·cent·ly adv.

Usage Note: Reticent is generally used to indicate a reluctance to speak. Most commentators on usage have criticized its extended use as an all-purpose synonym for reluctant. In our 2001 survey, 83 percent of the Panel found unacceptable the sentence A lot of out-of-towners are reticent to come to the Twin Cities for a ballgame if there's a chance the game will be rained out.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

reticence - the trait of being uncommunicative; not volunteering anything more than necessary taciturnity, reserve uncommunicativeness - the trait of being uncommunicative

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

reticence

noun silence, reserve, restraint, quietness, secretiveness, taciturnity, uncommunicativeness, unforthcomingness She didn't mind his reticence.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

reticence

noun

1. The keeping of one's thoughts and emotions to oneself:

control, reserve, restraint, self-control, self-restraint, taciturnity, uncommunicativeness.

2. Reserve in speech, behavior, or dress:

demureness, diffidence, modesty, self-effacement.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

επιφυλακτικότητα

reticenza

reticence

[ˈretɪsəns] N → reticencia f, reserva f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

reticence

[ˈretɪsəns] n → réticence f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

reticence

n → Zurückhaltung f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

reticence

[ˈrɛtɪs/əns] n → reticenza

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995