tentativein a sentencegrouped by contextual meaning
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The puppy approached us tentatively until it knew we wouldn't harm it.
tentatively = in a careful way (indicating a lack of confidence)
show 10 more with this conextual meaning
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She took a tentative step to see if her injured ankle would support her weight.
tentative = careful
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She walked tentatively down the steps, knowing that no words were required.
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tentatively = in a hesitant, unsure manner
- Augustus raised his hand tentatively. (source)
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I tentatively bite into one, and it's as good as our blackberries.
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tentatively = done in a careful way indicating a lack of confidence
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The wiener was hot, so Juju licked at it tentatively, but when I stood up and started stirring the hot dogs again, I felt a blaze of heat on my right side.
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tentatively = in a careful or unsure way
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"I'm —I'm Colin Creevey," he said breathlessly, taking a tentative step forward.
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tentative = in an unsure way (indicating a lack of confidence)
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The siren song of the void puts you on edge; it makes your movements tentative, clumsy, herkyjerky.
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tentative = careful or unsure
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I lay down next to her, and Gramps tentatively sat down on the other side.
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tentatively = in a careful or unsure way
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"Sir," Jonas said tentatively, "I would be very interested to hear the story of your life, and to listen to your memories."
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tentatively = in a hesitant, unsure manner
- Angela stepped tentatively behind the secretary, not knowing whether to ignore her disability or to take her arm. (source)
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show 89 more with this conextual meaning
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I asked tentatively.
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tentatively = in an unsure or hesitant manner
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Henry tentatively pressed his fingers into the fur under Baboo's jaw, attempting to scratch without getting slobber on his fingers.
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tentatively = carefully (in an unsure or hesitant manner)
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He spoke carefully, almost tentatively, yet his treason had been so brazen.
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tentatively = in a hesitant, unsure manner
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But somehow their caress felt soft and tentative.
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tentative = careful or unsure
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He seemed as skeptical as he'd been the other day, but instead of just patting my shoulder, he leaned in and tentatively wrapped his arms around me.
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tentatively = in a careful or unsure manner
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He nodded and reached out with his cane and tapped tentatively at the road.
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tentatively = in an unsure or hesitant manner
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He returned to shallow tentative breaths, drawing air past his lips as if he were sipping from a straw.
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tentative = careful
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She stepped forward tentatively.
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tentatively = in a careful or unsure way
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"I guess … the chariot," she said tentatively.
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tentatively = in an unsure or hesitant manner
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"You still mad, Jean Louise?" he asked tentatively.
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tentatively = in a careful or unsure way
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"You think there's a path through those woods?" he asked in his mild tentative voice when I got near.
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tentative = unsure
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Neither of the other wives dared to interfere beyond an occasional and tentative, "It is enough, Okonkwo," pleaded from a reasonable distance.
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tentative = cautious
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The Queendom had been enjoying a tentative peace ever since the time, twelve years earlier, when unbridled bloodshed spattered the doorstep of every Wonderlander.
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tentative = unsure (showing a lack of confidence)
- Was that a tiny, tentative knock at the door? (source)
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Then he flung himself down under a bush and waited for a moment till his breathing steadied. He passed his tongue tentatively over his teeth and lips and heard far off the ululation of the pursuers.
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tentatively = in an unsure manner
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"Being married might be scary," Hannah agreed tentatively.
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tentatively = in a careful way
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"I think my way is easier, Mr. Dussel," I say tentatively.
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tentatively = in a careful or unsure way
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He kisses me tentatively on the lips, almost as if he's scared to touch me again.
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tentatively = in an unsure or hesitant manner
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She dropped to her knees and gave the tail a tentative tug.
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tentative = careful or unsure
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A smile appears again, this time fleeting, tentative.
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tentative = unsure
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They approached the doorway tentatively.
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tentatively = carefully (in an unsure or hesitant manner)
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She looked up from a magazine, and I offered a tentative smile.
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tentative = careful or unsure
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I'd finally loaded my camera and tentatively taken a few pictures, just objects and still lifes, no faces yet.
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tentatively = in an unsure or hesitant manner
- He remembered asking his father, tentatively, afraid that he was invading his privacy, how much it had hurt him to start life over, to give up his old life, his career, his friends. (source)
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tentative greetings
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tentative = cautious (done in a careful way indicating a lack of confidence)
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The chief was smiling broadly now. Tentatively I smiled back.
(source)
tentatively = in an unsure or hesitant manner
- Tentatively, I reached down and touched it. (source)
- Tentatively, Patria brought up the topic. (source)
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One evening when I tentatively broached the subject of returning to America, Moody grew despondent rather than angry.
(source)
tentatively = in a careful or unsure way
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I smile tentatively and smooth down my hair.
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tentatively = in an unsure or hesitant manner
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Then she leans in and kisses me, a gentle kiss, tentative but lingering.
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tentative = done in a careful way indicating a lack of confidence
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Hel pokes at the mash and takes a tentative sniff.
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tentative = careful or unsure
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This, finally, was what had pained his mother most, the lost years standing between them, their words so tentative and formal where ease and love should have been.
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tentative = cautious
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She waits several seconds, trying to make up her mind about something, and looks at RUTH a little tentatively before going on.
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tentatively = in an unsure or hesitant manner
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I took a tentative step, then another.
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tentative = careful or unsure
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Old people walked tentatively, took careful steps, used rubber-tipped sticks to keep them safe.
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tentatively = in an unsure manner
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I walked up to the door and knocked, tentative and soft.
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tentative = carefully and uncertain of what would happen
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And then he kisses me. Tentatively at first, waiting for something, but there isn't any need. I would kiss him forever.
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tentatively = in an unsure way
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Erik laughed and tentatively touched the newly tattooed skin of my back.
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tentatively = in an unsure or hesitant manner
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'Doctor,' said the patient tentatively.
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tentatively = done in a careful way indicating a lack of confidence
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I looked down, then sucked in my breath so fast I almost choked. I was standing on a translucent platform suspended high over the sewer system. I wanted to scream, feeling off-balance and scared. ... I swallowed hard and tried to get a grip. Tentatively, I glanced down again at the translucent surface.
(source)
tentatively = in an unsure or careful manner
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Residents, numb from ceaseless easy-listening radio, tentatively peeked in, then sat to listen.
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tentatively = in an unsure or hesitant manner
- Anything that falls into a more personal realm is only tentatively welcomed. (source)
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Lou pulled tentatively at first, and then started to hit her stride.
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tentatively = in an unsure manner
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he sat down and pumped the pedals and very tentatively,
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tentatively = in an unsure or hesitant manner
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His legs were weak and his hip joints stiff and painful, but he took a few tentative steps, holding to the window frames.
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tentative = careful or unsure
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He drank another mouthful of gin, picked up the white knight and made a tentative move.
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tentative = in an unsure way (indicating a lack of confidence)
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Jordan and Tom and I got into the front seat of Gatsby's car, Tom pushed the unfamiliar gears tentatively, and we shot off into the oppressive heat, leaving them out of sight behind.
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tentatively = in a cautious unsure manner
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Again, tentatively, he felt his coat sleeve.
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tentatively = in an unsure or hesitant manner
- Tentatively, I put the fork into the skillet and stabbed a strip of sizzling meat.† (source)
- ?" the Count asked tentatively.† (source)
- "Hello …." he says tentatively.† (source)
- An embarrassing sense of pride tentatively bloomed in the middle of the sadness I felt at my surroundings.† (source)
- He pressed at it tentatively.† (source)
- She pointed the black light tentatively to a spot on the parquet floor.† (source)
- He came back a few moments later and grinned at me tentatively.† (source)
- Then, suspicion forming, tentatively, he said, "They say a witch is buried here."† (source)
- When Tariq's fingers tentatively began to slip into hers, Laila let them.† (source)
- I said tentatively.† (source)
- He put his right foot out, tentatively, not quite daring to put his full weight on it.† (source)
- "It's okay," Kate had said tentatively.† (source)
- Tentatively I whispered, "Stargirl?"† (source)
- The girl waved tentatively.† (source)
- We clutched our only possessions—the bolts of cloth and bottles of vodka that Schindler had secured for us—and walked tentatively through the city toward our old neighborhood.† (source)
- Students of the age of Dan's, and mine, have no great feeling—for example—for wit; wit simply passes them by, or else they take it to be an elderly form of snobbery, a mere showing off with the language that they use (at best) tentatively.† (source)
- Rather than risk drawing the curtains just yet, she turned on the reading light, and tentatively began the hunt for her dark glasses.† (source)
- He put one foot tentatively on the reef, and I warned him, "Bing.† (source)
- At first he did not touch me, but then, tentatively, he traced a small scar along my side.† (source)
- We approached tentatively and peeked through the fence slats.† (source)
- Gogol bends over, pats him tentatively.† (source)
- She tentatively reached forward, but Peony stumbled back, swiping at her wet cheeks and nose.† (source)
- "Mama?" said the child tentatively.† (source)
- Ender smiled tentatively.† (source)
- "Hi," I said tentatively.† (source)
- Tentatively, he made it understand that he was a friend.† (source)
- Now, tentatively, I toddle in a straight line.† (source)
- After a moment or two I saw the wings lift and push tentatively, then again, and again, each time with more force.† (source)
- He hands me the latest copy of They Walk Among Us and I sit tentatively on the edge of his bed.† (source)
- I smiled tentatively.† (source)
- But an idea had been forming within Mae's mind, and she raised her hand, tentatively.† (source)
- He read the title and tentatively turned some pages.† (source)
- The park, tentatively called Western World, would have a cowboy theme.† (source)
- I signed a contract with Quinto Sol and worked on the publication of the book, tentatively titled "Barrio Expressions."† (source)
- I'm tentatively scheduled to die.† (source)
- Meggie saw her mother get up and come toward her, walking tentatively, as if she were treading on broken glass.† (source)
- Clary asked tentatively.† (source)
- He tentatively reached out and touched the wood railing.† (source)
- I retrieve it from the floor and look up again, tentatively this time, not directly at him.† (source)
- Nathaniel tentatively fingers his way through a Beethoven-like dirge.† (source)
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My plans are still tentative.
tentative = subject to change (likely or possibly going to change)
show 10 more with this conextual meaning
- I have a tentative plan, but don't want to make any promises until I discuss it with some friends.
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She escorts me instead to the automatic doors, and we make tentative plans again, contingent upon this and that, all of it contigent still upon Patrick and Patrick alone, and the sad and peculiar notion of waiting for a heart.
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tentative = subject to change (possibly going to change)
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He figures the truth is the best way to begin even a tentative friendship.
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tentative = careful (indicating a lack of confidence)
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It was April and everything alive was tentative.
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tentative = subject to change (likely or possibly going to change)
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Helen and I made tentative plans to meet at three o'clock that afternoon in a park near the embassy.
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tentative = subject to change (possibly going to change)
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A plan forms in my head, tentative, outlandish, and mad enough that it just might work.
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tentative = subject to change (likely or possibly going to change)
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This time it was a tentative pull, not solid nor heavy,
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tentative = careful (indicating a lack of confidence)
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Tentative plans for the next issue were outlined, and decisions about the content of the magazine were made for several months in advance.
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tentative = subject to change (possibly going to change)
- It was the pre-evening hour during an international conference, a thousand tentative plans being made, rank and courtesan separated by glances of approval and rebuke, odd groupings everywhere. (source)
- Let me state them before advancing even tentative conclusions. (source)
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the race-meeting undoubtedly complicated the plans we had made tentatively beforehand.
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tentatively = with an expectation that there might be changes
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We'd made tentative plans to meet here at the hospital, and of course my unexpected stay would seem good timing (of a sort) for a visit, but a part of me doesn't want to talk to Mrs. Hickey just now, or even see her face.
(source)
tentative = subject to change (possibly going to change)
- We spent the remainder of the afternoon making tentative plans, not knowing when we could put them into effect. (source)
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Those tenuous, tentative first life-impressions have scattered like reflections in a pond under the swirling hand of an older brother or sister saying, I remember the day you ate the rat poison, Carlos, or, I remember the day you fell down the stairs…
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tentative = subject to change
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- From those great rooms overlooking the Fontanka Canal, new cuisines, fashions, and ideas all took their first tentative steps into Russian society.† (source)
- A weak, tentative smile.† (source)
- This book is meant to show how, for those of us who live in the most precarious places in this country, our destinies can be determined by a single stumble down the wrong path, or a tentative step down the right one.† (source)
- As my eyes began to adjust to the darkness, I let out a tentative sigh of relief.† (source)
- Her gestures were slow and tentative and her eyes reflected deep mental confusion.† (source)
- So Butterscotch barked—first a couple of tentative yips, then louder and more urgent.† (source)
- Ignoring her, he tried to catch Fudge's eye, or Madam Bones's, wanting to ask whether he was free to go, but Fudge seemed quite determined not to notice Harry, and Madam Bones was busy with her briefcase, so he took a few tentative steps towards the exit and, when nobody called him back, broke into a very fast walk.† (source)
- He and I have been exchanging looks for the past year as Susan and Caleb flirt in the tentative way known only to the Abnegation.† (source)
- TONY (taking a tentative step† (source)
- The girl's voice, underneath his, was tentative and shrill.† (source)
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show 190 more examples with any meaning
- At first, a tentative trickle, stepping off trains or out of cars in brightly colored waterproof coats, clutching their guidebooks and National Trust membership; then, as the air warmed and the season crept forward, disgorged alongside the belch and hiss of their coaches, clogging up the high street, Americans, Japanese, and packs of foreign schoolchildren dotted the perimeter of the castle.† (source)
- Then the sounds of the forest returned: the first tentative croak of a tree frog, the buzz of one cicada, and then the full chorus.† (source)
- His voice was not the usual aggressive rumble, but flatter, softer, more tentative.† (source)
- I AM CONTENT WITH TENTATIVENESS FROM DAY TO DAY.'† (source)
- Langdon stepped closer, his footing tentative beneath the water.† (source)
- Everything transient and aching; everything tentative.† (source)
- Pretending in words was too tentative, too vulnerable, too embarrassing to let anyone know.† (source)
- She heaved it up and took three tentative steps for the kitchen door.† (source)
- She pokes him gently in his soft middle, and he gives her a tentative smile.† (source)
- But she is terrified to raise a child in a country where she is related to no one, where she knows so little, where life seems so tentative and spare.† (source)
- As he watches her she picks up a cup of steaming liquid and takes a tentative sip.† (source)
- Halder delivered a tentative smack to his foe's upraised cheeks.† (source)
- I'm still smoldering a little, so it's with a tentative hand that Caesar reaches out to touch my headpiece.† (source)
- The words came out low and tentative as though he didn't quite believe them himself.† (source)
- He stood, giving his back another tentative stretch, and started pacing the small space.† (source)
- Kitsey, though she hadn't phoned, had sent me a tentative text.† (source)
- She took a tentative step into the concrete cube.† (source)
- In between we'd worked on radio corns and general strategy, exchanged ideas about how to provide the best cover for the squads we'd be accompanying, and made a dozen tentative tactical decisions, such as deciding whether it would be generally better to shoot from the top floor or the one right below.† (source)
- She wraps her arms around me in a tentative hug.† (source)
- Atmospheric drag stabilized the squid and Kassad felt the first tentative tug of gravity as he searched the console and the command chair arms for the control circuit he prayed would be there.† (source)
- I asked, tentative, not wanting to upset his buoyant humor.† (source)
- Finally there was a tentative briefing about a possible Operation Redwing, which involved the capture or killing of this highly dangerous character.† (source)
- The eastern men gave their tentative acceptance, but their concerns had not diminished.† (source)
- He raised a tentative hand, and Mae waved.† (source)
- Vanguard managed three tentative feet off the pad, lost thrust, and then blew up.† (source)
- Mark Fossie tried hard to keep up a self-assured pose, as if nothing had ever come between them, or ever could, but there was a fragility to it, something tentative and false.† (source)
- Their expressions were so fragile and tentative, I decided I couldn't break down in front of them.† (source)
- His eyes are big, his movements tentative.† (source)
- He had once asked for them in a timid and tentative voice, and she had given him a look of such utter darkness that he had told her at once to forget it.† (source)
- It was the friendliest tap, a bit tentative, as if she was afraid she had arrived too early at a friend's house.† (source)
- Everybody acted tentative.† (source)
- She took a tentative step forward, only a little wobbly.† (source)
- So Hitler gave me something to grow into and develop toward, tentative as I have sometimes been in the effort.† (source)
- Sophie Mol was more tentative.† (source)
- Sasha and Harriet smiled, gave me tentative airkisses, trying not to get too close.† (source)
- Until this point I had barely spoken a dozen words, responding to most of their tentative questions with grim silence.† (source)
- His playing is a little scratchy and tentative, but just like before, it's clear this is no beginner.† (source)
- Maryse took a tentative step forward.† (source)
- Glass took a tentative step forward.† (source)
- He ventured a tentative "Hey."† (source)
- Instead of the old, sure smile that flashed on easily and frequently as a photographer's bulb, his face was grave, even tentative-the face of a man who often does not get what he wants.† (source)
- She stood and took a few tentative steps.† (source)
- After an initial, tentative lick to determine what it was Eragon had given him, Sloan dug his teeth into the lizard and ripped a thick gobbet from the carcass.† (source)
- Tentative, he reached for it-surprised, as he had been before, at how incredibly heavy it was.† (source)
- He wore a small mustache over narrow lips; and he smiled a tentative smile which did not quite mask his patient wonder as to who they were.† (source)
- The government, in its slow and tentative way, was reckoning that they had to come to some accommodation with the ANC.† (source)
- One tentative hand stretched toward mine.† (source)
- Jahrling now had a tentative diagnosis.† (source)
- …two sides, which gradually alters one way or the other until it is clear that the balance has tilted so far that the issue can no longer be in doubt—so this gathering of rabbits in the dark, beginning with hesitant approaches, silences, pauses, movements, crouchings side by side and all manner of tentative appraisals, slowly moved, like a hemisphere of the world into summer, to a warmer, brighter region of mutual liking and approval, until all felt sure that they had nothing to fear.† (source)
- But just as she began building, the economy took a slide: there were layoffs, the stock market plummeted, and suddenly everyone was tentative with their dollars, especially when it came to real estate.† (source)
- An air of tentativeness about him.† (source)
- They get very tentative about sitting in it.† (source)
- Two or three of the cowboys trailed back to the grave, a little tentative, not sure they were invited.† (source)
- This doesn't mean that we should drop programs to send girls to school and instead settle for introducing cable television to villages full of wife beaters, for these findings are tentative and need to be replicated elsewhere.† (source)
- Pollard, too, was tentative.† (source)
- He urged her to keep goading their parents, so tentative with the English language, to keep writing letters to him.† (source)
- Glad to be diverted from having to talk about my own horrid parental issues, I looked up, smiling, at the sound of Sarah's tentative, nervous voice.† (source)
- John reached out a tentative hand and stroked the air a whisper above the surface of the door.† (source)
- He grew awkwardly into a tall, strange, dreamy boy with fragile eyes and a very delicate mouth whose tentative, groping smile collapsed instantly into hurt disorder at every fresh rebuff.† (source)
- The door swung open, slowly— Ridley seemed tentative.† (source)
- -a comment that draws applause, albeit tentative.† (source)
- Her hand, tentative like mine, slipped past my waistband, prospecting.† (source)
- Her voice is tentative.† (source)
- Their first steps seemed tentative, taken almost simultaneously toward each other.† (source)
- After a tour, which included Hanna's tentative selection of her new bedroom, they settled around a plank farm table on the porch and had French toast and scrambled eggs.† (source)
- "Begging my lord's indulgence," said Seivarden from the floor, voice tentative.† (source)
- Eve took a tentative sip—and nearly moaned.† (source)
- But he said I was too tentative in what it might have turned into that night.† (source)
- A progressively less tentative peace returned to Tranquility Isle.† (source)
- Gullberg had begun at the Russia desk of the third division of the state police, and after two years in the job had undertaken his first tentative field work in 1952 and 1953 as an air force attaché with the rank of captain at the embassy in Moscow.† (source)
- The tentative attitude of Dickinson and the "Quaker interests" was becoming more and more difficult to tolerate.† (source)
- It was like the first, faint, tentative touch of a fish on a line.† (source)
- Ernesto's pallid skin mottled with excitement, his tentative hands that quickly became assured under her encouragement, the way he laid his — downy head between her breasts and slept contentedly, like a well-fed baby.† (source)
- He took a tentative step toward me, then paused, holding his sword out and shaking it.† (source)
- Ari gave him a tentative smile.† (source)
- Tentative.† (source)
- Yet he was not Kennedy's first choice to head the State Department, and just three months into his new job, the new secretary of state remains tentative with his boss, wary of speaking his mind.† (source)
- Lillian's head was poised to bow in greeting, with the tentative hint of a smile on her lips, half-timid, half-brash.† (source)
- So she peered closely at the fire, reaching out a tentative finger to touch one of the flames.† (source)
- Pleased, tentative and oddly sexual.† (source)
- I reach out a tentative hand to touch them.† (source)
- The tribesmen took tentative steps.† (source)
- Perhaps in twenty years his Korean words will creep out like mine, the notes uncertain, tentative.† (source)
- Rich colors bloomed in midair from what had been tentative vanishing grays.† (source)
- But he is too exhausted to eat; he takes a few tentative bites of the eggs; pushes the plate from him.† (source)
- Friends and /or family could give testimonials, supposing they cared to (this wording struck her daughters as pathetically tentative), and Reverend Stock could say something brief and—if it wasn't asking too much—"not too heavy on the religion."† (source)
- They were tentative, apparently frightened.† (source)
- I breathed out a sigh of relief when Sofia stepped out of the room, a tentative smile spreading across her lips at the sight of me.† (source)
- Tentative ID is a freighter.† (source)
- A tentative list of the material requirements for this assignment lay on the conference table, surrounded by many grave countenances.† (source)
- He put a tentative arm up; instantly one pulled over, in a rolling wave of black slush.† (source)
- But the tentative first stones were already falling around the crazy lady.† (source)
- This was not the first tentative contact by a race which knew nothing of man.† (source)
- Ambiguous, tentative—but there.† (source)
- Then she smiled, a tentative thing.† (source)
- After that they circled around each other in a half crouch, making tentative passes with their hands, and looking like a couple of roosters.† (source)
- The first blows were tentative and timid, but when she did not cry he slashed at her sides and shoulders.† (source)
- Sacrabani, who had been screaming vigorously, began to quieten down: he gave one or two more tentative wails, then his mouth split in something like a smile and his fingers curled round Selvam's.† (source)
- There was some way she began to move her arms that was mysteriously sweet and yet abrupt and tentative, a delicate and vulnerable manner, as though her breasts gave her pain.† (source)
- She lifts the bundle to her nose and takes a tentative sniff.† (source)
- Her voice is a tentative, high-pitched whisper.† (source)
- Wit isn't tentative; therefore, neither is it young.† (source)
- Mariam slowly grew accustomed to this tentative but pleasant companionship.† (source)
- Gina's face came alive with a tentative smile.† (source)
- She scoots along the bench to Octavia and touches her skin with a tentative finger.† (source)
- Mouths were set in downward crescents, eyes veiled, feet tentative.† (source)
- And finally the father of them all, looking tentative, fell from the bag and into the tank.† (source)
- "Hey Mae," he said, and gave her a tentative hug.† (source)
- The knock on the door was low and tentative.† (source)
- His heavy eyebrows, his boat-keel nose, his tentative smile.† (source)
- Above the tank, Victor looked tentative, and was trying to catch Stenton's eye.† (source)
- I took a tentative bite …. and it was pretty good.† (source)
- She took a few tentative sips, and her voice became stronger.† (source)
- A tentative smile, so quick as to be almost nonexistent, flashed across her features.† (source)
- His fingers touched my hair, soft and tentative.† (source)
- Clary's voice, tentative but familiar, filled his head.† (source)
- He reached a tentative hand for her shoulder.† (source)
- They dismounted and took some tentative steps.† (source)
- Producing a handkerchief, Mum gave a tentative wave.† (source)
- We ask him questions but he is tentative with this kind of material.† (source)
- They took a tentative step, and the crowd started to part.† (source)
- "I think I need another one of these," she said with a tentative smile.† (source)
- We Set Up a Tentative Meet For tomorrow evening.† (source)
- There was a tentative little nudge in my womb.† (source)
- The flashes no longer blinded when they shot up into the sky, the bolts of blue pale and tentative.† (source)
- "No," replies Zayd, his voice oddly tentative, a puzzled look on his face.† (source)
- That's a reasonable decision, then," said Jason, a tentative but warm smile on his lips.† (source)
- Amanda's smile was tentative when they finally reached her door.† (source)
- I took a tentative step onto a groaning stair so I could get a closer look.† (source)
- Soon I felt other, tentative hands patting my back, stroking my hair.† (source)
- There he stood, tentative, embarrassed, and unsure what his reception would be.† (source)
- Mike put a hand on Julie's shoulder and took a tentative step toward the door.† (source)
- Sophia accepted a mug from Linda and took a tentative sip.† (source)
- Stumbling, tentative, and afraid, they were walking once again like very young children.† (source)
- Jessica smiled at me with tentative friendliness before she left.† (source)
- Now the rhythmic applause starts, tentative at first, then spreading densely through the stands.† (source)
- Then he looked at Tom again and took a few more tentative steps toward him.† (source)
- Again the leader paused, as if tentative about actually asking what he had come to ask.† (source)
- Her giggle was tentative, testing to see if we were on good terms again.† (source)
- There was a tentative knock and a deep, rumbling inquiry.† (source)
- "Miss Boon?" she asked, uncharacteristically tentative.† (source)
- A tentative cheer rose out of the crowd.† (source)
- At his tentative touch, she wheeled around.† (source)
- I took a tentative step onto the grand flying staircase that led up to Lena's bedroom.† (source)
- "What did I once tell you?" she asks finally, in a tentative voice.† (source)
- If he was clumsy earlier, his movements now were those of a man incapable of tentative strokes.† (source)
- Their gentleness, tentative-ness, and beauty made him feel as if he were in a vivid dream.† (source)
- He took a few tentative steps down the shore, then stopped, feet planted in the sand.† (source)
- Then he raised it to his lips and blew a few tentative notes.† (source)
- And this caused her to stiffen with a tentative anger against Florence, and with pride and fear.† (source)
- Another tentative step behind the world.† (source)
- But he said, ironic and tentative, "What made you decide to speak to me so frankly, my dear boy?† (source)
- At last, a tentative voice answered.† (source)
- Keen for them all to be friends again, however, he agreed; but when Ron gave Hermione a tentative smile, she stalked off and vanished behind her book once more.† (source)
- The skeleton hovered a moment, like a tentative lover, and then with a sticky crackling, it succumbed to gravity and peeled away.† (source)
- Hey, hey, they said, a little tentative at first, not ready to accept the implications of the process unfolding before them. the boy pedaled diagonally down the slope, shrewdly reducing the angle of des cent, then paused on the bottom to aim his three-wheeler at the point on the opposite side which seemed to represent the shortest distance across.† (source)
- She hoped someone would come up and check on her, but when she heard a small, tentative knock on her door earlier this afternoon, Spencer didn't answer.† (source)
- These ways of speaking that were neither conciliatory nor tentative came roughly to my tongue exactly when a tone was needed that would not offend.† (source)
- She was perhaps too young to realize that what she assumed was her love for Chacko was actually a tentative, timorous, acceptance of herself.† (source)
- She touched her rough, calloused hand to the other girl's rough, calloused hand, and they slipped out into the midst of other girls beginning tentative dance steps.† (source)
- Every FORCE:space shuttle carried some sort of atmospheric egress device-it was a custom dating back almost eight centuries to when the entire realm of space flight consisted only of tentative excursions just above the skin of Old Earth's atmosphere.† (source)
- Tentative, she inched forward blindly.† (source)
- Grandmother regarded Owen uncertainly; before she allowed him to replace her at the open door, she reached outside and snatched her mail from Mr. Morrison's tentative hand.† (source)
- I rise and reach for a towel to smother it, when there's a tentative knock and the bathroom door opens, revealing three familiar faces.† (source)
- Hester stood still and put her hand out to Owen—her big paw, uncharacteristically tentative and gentle, reached out and touched his face, as if there were a force in Owen's immediate vicinity that compelled the passerby to touch him.† (source)
- But although Owen agreed with me that the rector was a moron who messed up the Bible for tentative believers by assaulting us with the worst of God the Almighty and God the Terrible—and although Owen acknowledged that the Rev. Mr. Wiggin's sermons were about as entertaining and convincing as a pilot's voice in the intercom, explaining technical difficulties while the plane plummets toward the earth and the stewardesses are screaming—Owen actually preferred Wiggin to what little he knew…† (source)
- Once, in Winston Churchill Park, when there were children roughhousing—at least, moving quickly—I saw someone about his size, standing slightly to the side of whatever activity was consuming the others, looking a trifle tentative but very alert, certainly eager to try what the others were doing, but restraining himself, or else picking the exactly perfect moment to take charge.† (source)
- The sex part had been moderately successful, if a little tentative (at least neither of them had cried when it was over; for some reason he had been morbidly sure that one of them would do that).† (source)
- His voice was tentative.† (source)
- Then it took a tentative step toward Arya …. and another …. and then another, its beak parting as it strained toward the pool of blood by her feet.† (source)
- She is eager to get to the theater but tentative in her approach because Mr. Lincoln's moods have been so unpredictable lately.† (source)
- She offered a tentative smile.† (source)
- Now she was tentative, taking light steps and holding herself tight even though she had the whole enormous aisle to spread out in.† (source)
- However, the teleprinter was impatient: TRANSMIT REPLY TO CENTRAL CODES After a moment, Stone typed back: message to central codes follows cannot characterize at this time but suggest tentative classification as "bacterial strain end message MESSAGE FROM CENTRAL CODES FOLLOWS UNDERSTAND REQUEST FOR BACTERIAL, CLASSIFICATION OPENING NEW CATEGORY CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO ICDA STANDARD REFERENCE CODE FOR YOUR ORGANISM WILL BE ANDROMEDA.† (source)
- After giving Moby a tentative pat on the head, he had sneaked inside to change into shorts, tucking the leash in his back pocket.† (source)
- Again, I felt it: this tentative, careful peace between my sisters-not exactly flimsy, but not set in stone, either.† (source)
- His touch was gentle, almost tentative.† (source)
- 'Nate's voice was low, tentative.† (source)
- It had only been that first day that he'd said anything big, and that was just— There was a whirring noise behind me, and next Lissa's voice, slight and tentative.† (source)
- She could hear the engine idling, and as she descended the porch steps, her dad offered a tentative wave.† (source)
- Morning had arrived but darkness still mingled with the tentative daylight seeping through the slits in the tapes.† (source)
- It was always the last to the feed tray and the water trough, and it was scrawnier and more tentative than its siblings.† (source)
- '1 "Well, after all," said Philip, in the angry and cautious tone of a tentative threat, "I could have my friends assign me to a job here and compel you to accept it!"† (source)
- The little chins, the lips, the eyes, they're tentative organs on these kids, almost as if they're optional equipment.† (source)
- With the purchase of works of art, he was tentative at first, buying only two "small laughing busts," as he recorded, then a plaster statue of Hercules and two portraits that he itemized only as "heads."† (source)
- She's in a tentative mood—they've spent so little time alone in the past few months that being together, just the two of them, feels strange.† (source)
- Something about him unsettled me to a point where I felt so tentative that for some reason I compensated by being entirely too open.† (source)
- Yves always seemed, a moment before the act, tentative and tremulous; not like a girl—like a boy: and this strangely innocent waiting, this virile helplessness, always engendered in Eric a positive storm of tenderness.† (source)
- It was all very tentative, the way he looked, like a man peeping around a corner of someplace he is not supposed to be, trying to make up his mind whether to go forward or to turn back.† (source)
- They emerge through the air-lock door, pale, shaken, tentative, trembling, angry with the Army, angry with themselves.† (source)
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