reticent

unwilling to speak; reserved; taciturn, uncommunicative: She was reticent to answer our questions.

Not to be confused with:

reluctant – disinclined; unwilling to act: She’s reluctant to report him to the police.

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.

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

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.

reticent

(ˈrɛtɪsənt)

adj

not open or communicative; not saying all that one knows; taciturn; reserved

[C19: from Latin reticēre to keep silent, from re- + tacēre to be silent]

ˈreticence n

ˈreticently adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ret•i•cent

(ˈrɛt ə sənt)

adj.

1. disposed to be silent or not to speak freely; reserved.

2. restrained, as in style or appearance.

[1825–35; < Latin reticent-, s. of reticēns, present participle of reticēre to keep silent =re- re- + -ticēre, comb. form of tacēre to be silent; see -ent]

ret′i•cence, ret′i•cen•cy, n.

ret′i•cent•ly, adv.

reticent

- Based on Latin tacere, "be silent," combined with re-, an intensive prefix.

reticent

adjective uncommunicative, reserved, secretive, unforthcoming, quiet, silent, restrained, taciturn, tight-lipped, unspeaking, close-lipped, mum She is so reticent about her achievements.
open, frank, candid, expansive, talkative, communicative, voluble see reluctant

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

reticent

adjective

1. Not speaking freely or openly:

close, close-mouthed, incommunicable, incommunicative, reserved, silent, taciturn, tightlipped, uncommunicable, uncommunicative.

2. Not friendly, sociable, or warm in manner:

aloof, chill, chilly, cool, distant, offish, remote, reserved, solitary, standoffish, unapproachable, uncommunicative, undemonstrative, withdrawn.

Translations

reticente reticenza

reticent

[ˈretɪsənt] ADJ → reticente, reservado
he has been very reticent about it → ha tratado el asunto con la mayor reserva

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

reticent

[ˈrɛtɪsənt] adj → réticent(e)
reticent about sth → réticent(e) à parler de qch

reticent

adj → zurückhaltend; to be reticent about something → in Bezug auf etw (acc) → nicht sehr gesprächig sein

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

reticent

[ˈrɛtɪs/ənt] adj → reticente, riservato/a

Adj.	1.	reticent - temperamentally disinclined to talk untalkative taciturn - habitually reserved and uncommunicative
	2.	reticent - cool and formal in manner restrained, unemotional undemonstrative - not given to open expression of emotion
	3.	reticent - reluctant to draw attention to yourself self-effacing, retiring unassertive - inclined to timidity or lack of self-confidence; "a shy unassertive person"