Word of the Day 1.4.09
reticent
ret·i·cent (r
t
-s
nt)
adj.
1. Inclined to keep one’s thoughts, feelings, and personal affairs to oneself. See Synonyms at silent.
2. Restrained or reserved in style.
3. Reluctant; unwilling.
[Latin retic
ns, reticent-, present participle of reticre, to keep silent : re-, re- + tacre, to be silent.]
reti·cent·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
| Adj. | 1. | reticent – temperamentally disinclined to talk
taciturn – habitually reserved and uncommunicative
|
| 2. | reticent – cool and formal in manner
undemonstrative – not given to open expression of emotion
|
|
| 3. | reticent – reluctant to draw attention to yourself
unassertive – inclined to timidity or lack of self-confidence; “a shy unassertive person”
|