Reluctant vs. Reticent — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Reluctant and Reticent
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Compare with Definitions
Reluctant
Unwilling; disinclined
Reluctant to help.
Reticent
Inclined to keep one's thoughts, feelings, and personal affairs to oneself.
Reluctant
Exhibiting or marked by unwillingness
Reluctant cooperation.
Reticent
Restrained or reserved
“The laughter was steady, if reticent” (Bernard Lown).
Reluctant
(Archaic) Offering resistance; opposing.
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Reticent
Usage Problem Reluctant; unwilling.
Reluctant
Opposing; offering resistance (to).
Reticent
Keeping one's thoughts and opinions to oneself; reserved or restrained.
Reluctant
Not wanting to take some action; unwilling.
She was reluctant to lend him the money
Surprisingly, our new dog is a reluctant ball-retriever.
Reticent
(proscribed) Hesitant or not wanting to take some action; reluctant (usually followed by a verb in the infinitive).
Reluctant
(regular expressions) Tending to match as little text as possible.
Reticent
Inclined to keep silent; reserved; uncommunicative.
Reluctant
Striving against; opposed in desire; unwilling; disinclined; loth.
Reluctant, but in vain.
Reluctant now I touched the trembling string.
Reticent
Temperamentally disinclined to talk
Reluctant
Proceeding from an unwilling mind; granted with reluctance; as, reluctant obedience.
Reticent
Cool and formal in manner
Reluctant
Unwillingness to do something contrary to your custom;
A reluctant smile
Loath to admit a mistake
Unwilling to face facts
Reticent
Reluctant to draw attention to yourself
Reluctant
Unwilling to become involved;
They were usually reluctant to socialize
Reluctant to help
Reluctant
Not eager;
Foreigners stubbornly uneager to accept our ways
Fresh from college and uneager for the moment to marry him
Reluctant to help
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