1640-50; < Latinhaesitant- (stem of haesitāns), present participle of haesitāre to falter, hesitate, equivalent to haes(us), past participle of haerēre to stick, hold fast + -it- frequentative suffix + -ant--ant
Related forms
hesitantly, adverb
nonhesitant, adjective
nonhesitantly, adverb
unhesitant, adjective
unhesitantly, adverb
Examples from the web for hesitant
Officials have been hesitant to publicly endorse such a drastic change.
Many departments will offer these details automatically, but if they don't, you shouldn't be hesitant about asking.
But some of his leading colleagues are more hesitant.
Watch a bit more, and the hesitant flicks and sags of their antennae seem to convey some kind of emotion.
It can guzzle bandwidth and carriers have been hesitant to support the applications.
Rous was cautious, hesitant to claim that the microbe causing cancer in chickens was a virus.
Federal prosecutors have now cast politicians' hesitant talk of war in legal form.
He was hesitant about how well his team could serve personalized results that weren't paltry.
The university foundation has been hesitant to turn over information about overseas alumni.
Marine researchers are hesitant to say the world's oceans are sicker than usual.
British Dictionary definitions for hesitant
hesitant
/ˈhɛzɪtənt/
adjective
1.
wavering, hesitating, or irresolute
Derived Forms
hesitance, hesitancy, noun hesitantly, adverb
Word Origin and History for hesitant
adj.
1640s, probably a back-formation from hesitancy, or else from Latin haesitantem. Related: Hesitantly.