reticent

[ret-uh-suh nt] /ˈrɛt ə sənt/

adjective

disposed to be silent or not to speak freely; reserved.

reluctant or restrained.

Origin

1825-35; < Latin reticent- (stem of reticēns), present participle of reticēre to be silent, equivalent to re- re- + -tic-, combining form of tacēre to be silent (cf. tacit) + -ent- -ent

Related forms

reticence, reticency, noun

reticently, adverb

nonreticent, adjective

nonreticently, adverb

unreticent, adjective

unreticently, adverb

Can be confused

reluctant, reticent (see synonym study at reluctant)

reticent, reluctant.

Synonyms

1. taciturn, quiet, uncommunicative.

Antonyms

1. talkative, voluble.

Examples from the web for reticent

Being an introvert does not mean being incompetent, shy, or even reticent.
Much of the mystery was of her own making, growing out of her reticent, elusive personality.
He is reticent and shy, and his pared-down approach to the presentation of himself applies also to the presentation of his work.
He's less reticent about discussing his frequent-flier mileage balance, which presumably exceeds that of his peers.
She and her collaborators came up with a clever way to use mobile phones to reach reticent sufferers.
Holt tends, however, to be reticent on the ancient history of joking.
Many toddlers are notoriously choosy about their foods and reticent to try new things.
Under the name of each artist was a brief and extremely reticent biography.
Suddenly his literary friends who had been so willing to help publicize his book grew reticent.
They are sometimes reticent, because they think it is going to be too complicated, too this or too that.

British Dictionary definitions for reticent

reticent

/ˈrɛtɪsənt/

adjective

not open or communicative; not saying all that one knows; taciturn; reserved

Derived Forms

reticence, noun
reticently, adverb

Word Origin

C19: from Latin reticēre to keep silent, from re- + tacēre to be silent

Word Origin and History for reticent

adj.

1834, from Latin reticentem (nominative reticens), present participle of reticere "be silent" (see reticence).