reticent means unwilling to communicate; keeping one's thoughts and opinions to oneself; reserved or restrained.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, reticent ranks #6,015 of 17,123 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #6,915 of 17,123 for Most Malleable Words, #11,696 of 17,118 for Most Ponderous Words, #14,187 of 17,135 for The Improbable.
reticent is pronounced /ˈɹɛtɪsənt/.
Why “reticent” is a great word
Inclined to be silent or uncommunicative in speech; reserved. From Latin *reticēns*, present participle of *reticēre* ("to keep silent"), from *re-* (intensive) + *tacēre* ("to be silent"), first recorded in English in 1822. Unlike "taciturn," which implies a habitual, morose disinclination to converse, or "reluctant," a general unwillingness to act, "reticent" is the specific, often temporary, choice to hold one's tongue. It is the quiet guest at a boisterous dinner, the unshared confidence held behind pursed lips, the eloquent pause in a fraught conversation. Reticence is not absence; it is presence refused, a small violence done to the social contract of exchange.
Etymology
Latin reticēns, present participle of reticeō (“to keep silence”).
adj
- Unwilling to communicate; keeping one's thoughts and opinions to oneself; reserved or restrained.e.g.“She's rather reticent on the subject of her finances.”
- Hesitant or not wanting to take some action; reluctant (usually followed by a verb in the infinitive).e.g.“He is reticent to travel so much.”
Words closest in meaning
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