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Definition
reluctant — especially to speak freely- She was reticent initially, but eventually she opened up.
reticent = reluctant — usually to speak freely
- The candidate is reticent to discuss her personal beliefs in a public setting.
- The affections are more reticent than the passions, and their expression more subtle.Forster, E. M. -- Howards End
- In short, Mr Blandois found that to pour port wine into the reticent Flintwinch was, not to open him but to shut him up.Dickens, Charles -- Little Dorrit
- Pour your heart out to me, Bessie. Don't be reticent.J.D. Salinger -- Franny and Zooey
- Max's roommate seemed on the verge of saying something else but did not. Cooper was not so reticent.Henry H. Neff -- The Fiend And The Forge
- He took my hand as we walked to the river, which surprised me, as he's normally reticent to show affection in public.Barbara Kingsolver -- The Poisonwood Bible
- ...they were wily and cunning and did not directly attack him. Their reticence puzzled Eragon until...Christopher Paolini -- Eldest
- Anybody meeting him there for the first time might have thought him reticent. Almost timid.Arundhati Roy -- The God of Small Things
- A reticent fellow, he made no reply.E.M. Forster -- Howards End
- Jasper had never been reticent, but now it seemed he had to be talking every waking minute as a means of holding his own fears in balance.Larry McMurtry -- Lonesome Dove
- "Tell me in ten words or less," she suggested, sensing his reticence.Nicholas Sparks -- The Lucky One
- The youth knew me and had no reticence in talking...John Howard Griffin -- Black Like Me
- Nasser, reticent by nature, withdrew almost completely.Dave Eggers -- Zeitoun
- a sensitive and reticent boyTruman Capote -- In Cold Blood
- Actually, this self-imposed reticence cost him little effort.Albert Camus -- The Plague
- Reasoning on the cause of their reticence he concluded that ... [they] were afraid to broach the subject,Thomas Hardy -- The Mayor of Casterbridge
- She showed her usual reticence to her parents, and only said, that if Lydgate had done as she wished he would have left Middlemarch long ago.George Eliot -- Middlemarch
- a good deal of mysterious reticence on Mrs. Penniman's part.Henry James -- Washington Square
- underlying all this... was both delicacy and reticence.Mark Helprin -- A Soldier of the Great War
reticent = reluctant — usually to speak freely
reticent = reluctant
reticent = reluctant to speak freely
reticent = reluctant
reticence = reluctance
reticent = reluctant to speak freely
reticent = reluctant to speak freely
reticent = reluctant to speak
reticence = reluctance to speak freely
reticence = reluctance
reticent = reluctant to speak freely
reticent = reluctant to speak
reticence = reluctance to speak
reticence = reluctance to speak freely
reticence = reluctance to speak freely
reticence = reluctance to speak freely
reticence = reluctance (usually to speak freely)