Standard Lemma guide

hesitant

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

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

Pronunciation

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.

  • /ˈhɛzɪtənt/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: HH EH1 Z IH0 T AH0 N T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Tending to hesitate, wait, or proceed with caution or reservation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • I am hesitant to recommend him as a manager because he has a short temper.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

lacking decisiveness of character; unable to act or decide quickly or firmly

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: hesitating

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

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 haesitānsbor. English hesitant Borrowed from Latin haesitans, present participle of haesitare (“to stick fast, to hesitate”).

Across languages

Translations

45 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: колеблив (kolebliv) — tending to hesitate
  • Bulgarian: нерешителен (nerešitelen) — tending to hesitate
  • Czech: váhavý — tending to hesitate
  • Dutch: schoorvoetend — tending to hesitate
  • Dutch: aarzelend — tending to hesitate
  • Dutch: weifelend — tending to hesitate
  • Finnish: epäröivä — tending to hesitate
  • French: hésitant — tending to hesitate
  • German: zögerlich — tending to hesitate
  • Greek: διστακτικός (distaktikós) — tending to hesitate
  • Hebrew: הססן (Hasesan) — tending to hesitate
  • Hindi: संकोची (saṅkocī) — tending to hesitate
  • Icelandic: hikandi — tending to hesitate
  • Icelandic: efablandinn — tending to hesitate
  • Icelandic: tvístígandi — tending to hesitate
  • Icelandic: óákveðinn — tending to hesitate
  • Icelandic: óráðinn — tending to hesitate
  • Icelandic: á báðum áttum — tending to hesitate
  • Italian: esitante — tending to hesitate
  • Italian: titubante — tending to hesitate
  • Latin: cunctans — tending to hesitate
  • Latin: haesitans — tending to hesitate
  • Māori: pōkaku — tending to hesitate
  • Māori: hokirua — tending to hesitate
  • Māori: kokekoke — tending to hesitate
  • Māori: maunawenawe — tending to hesitate
  • Māori: tikumu — tending to hesitate
  • Norwegian Bokmål: nølende — tending to hesitate
  • Portuguese: hesitante — tending to hesitate
  • Russian: неуверен (neuveren) — tending to hesitate
  • Spanish: vacilante — tending to hesitate
  • Spanish: inseguro — tending to hesitate
  • Spanish: titubeante — tending to hesitate
  • Spanish: dubitativo — tending to hesitate
  • Spanish: indeciso — tending to hesitate
  • Spanish: irresoluto — tending to hesitate
  • Swedish: tveksam — tending to hesitate
  • Swedish: tvehågsen — tending to hesitate
  • Swedish: villrådig — tending to hesitate
  • Swedish: ambivalent — tending to hesitate
  • Swedish: kluven — tending to hesitate
  • Swedish: velig — tending to hesitate
  • Swedish: obeslutsam — tending to hesitate
  • Swedish: vankelmodig — tending to hesitate
  • Tagalog: nag-aalinlangan — tending to hesitate