All 6 Uses of
tentative
in
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter
- Caroline walked tentatively, floorboards creaking with every step, but no one appeared.
p. 24.6tentatively = in a cautious unsure manner
- It was not until they left the office, stepping tentatively into the chill, damp air of the next afternoon, that the loss had finally penetrated.
p. 37.9tentatively = in an unsure or hesitant manner
- A silence followed, and then Bree broke it awkwardly, tentatively, by offering Norah the last piece of buttered bread.
p. 44.2
- Tentatively, now, she pushed the silver lever.
p. 83.3
- 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.
p. 392.7 *tentative = cautious
- Paul watched his mother embrace his sister and give Phoebe her bouquet; he watched Phoebe's tentative hug in return.
p. 398.1
Definitions:
-
(1)
(tentative as in: said it tentatively) done in a careful or unsure way (indicating a lack of confidence in exactly what will happen)
-
(2)
(tentative as in: a tentative plan) subject to change (likely or possibly going to change)