American English pronunciation

How to pronounce reluctant

IPA transcription: [ɹɪ'lʌktənt]

Pronunciation variants: [ɹɪ'lʌktənt][ɹi'lʌktənt]

Hear “reluctant” pronounced

[ɹɪ'lʌktənt]

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[ɹɪ'lʌktənt]

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[ɹɪ'lʌktənt]

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Adjective

  • unwillingness to do something contrary to your custom

    “a reluctant smile”

    “loath to admit a mistake”

  • disinclined to become involved

    “they were usually reluctant to socialize”

    “reluctant to help”

  • not eager

    “foreigners stubbornly reluctant to accept our ways”

    “fresh from college and reluctant for the moment to marry him”

Usage examples

  • As the Blur, he reluctantly fights crime at the request of Nighthawk.
  • Wellington was reluctant and recommended that the King choose Peel.
  • Ryba reluctantly obeyed, but he was soon fired.
  • He is initially reluctant, but his mother insists and he respects her wishes.
  • However, the government was reluctant to give the required development planning consent.
  • He might better be called, as one has phrased it, 'a reluctant rebel.
  • Bonham was reluctant.
  • Broccoli asked Ludlum to write the script, but Ludlum was reluctant.
  • She gives her reluctant consent.
  • Angered, Brian decides to move out and become roommates with a reluctant Limbaugh.