Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
noun
A pausing or halting before beginning a task, often as a result of some fear or uncertainty about the outcome.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: hesitation
Antonyms: none provided
noun
a certain degree of unwillingness
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Synonyms: reluctance, hesitation, disinclination, indisposition
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: unwillingness, involuntariness
Narrower terms: sloth, slothfulness
noun
a feeling of diffidence and indecision about doing something
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: hesitance
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: diffidence, self-doubt, self-distrust
History
Etymology tree Latin haereō Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tos Latin -tus Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh2yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h2tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin -tō ▲ Latin -tō Latin -itō Latin -titō Latin haesitō Latin haesitāns Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ia Latin haesitantiabor. English hesitancy From Latin haesitantia. By surface analysis, hesitant + -cy.
