reluctant English · revision 39468

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1604, W. Barlow, Summe of the Conference at Hampton Court|origins=la luctor}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ɹɪˈlʌktənt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|reluctāns|t=struggling against]], the present participle of [[m|la|reluctor|t=to struggle against, resist]],^(OED 2026)^(AHD 2024)^(Etymonline) from [[m|la|re-|t=against]] and [[m|la|luctor|t=to struggle, wrestle]].^(Etymonline)^(Ayto 2005)^(Hoad 1986) Skeat derives ''luctor'' from [[m|la|lucta|t=wrestling]].^(Skeat 1911) The OED compares [[it|riluttante|t=unwilling]], recorded from 1342, and the earlier English verb [[reluct]].^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Offering resistance or opposition, often followed by ''to'': 1604, in William Barlow's account of the Hampton Court Conference.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) Etymonline dates it to the 1660s and the Oxford dictionaries to the mid 17th century.^(Etymonline)^(ODE 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In its first uses the word kept the physical force of the Latin: Milton's Satan, turned into a serpent in ''Paradise Lost'' (1667), falls "reluctant, but in vain", writhing and struggling.^(Ayto 2005)^(Cresswell 2021)^(OED 2026) The weakened sense "unwilling, disinclined", which had already developed in Latin, is recorded in English from 1638.^(OED 2026)^(Ayto 2005) Johnson (1755) gave only "unwilling; acting with repugnance", quoting Milton.^(Johnson 1755) The Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins calls it a word that has lost much of its strength; the senses of struggling and resisting are now obsolete or rare.^(Cresswell 2021)^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1604 – offering resistance (now rare).^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1638 – unwilling, disinclined.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1648 – showing reluctance.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1667 – struggling, writhing, in Milton (obsolete by 1853).^(OED 2026)^(Ayto 2005)

+ * 1660s – Etymonline's date, ''unwilling, struggling against duty''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[unwilling]] or hesitant to do something: ''He was reluctant to lend them his car.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Done or given unwillingly: ''a reluctant apology''.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+ # (archaic) Offering [[resistance]] or opposition.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[reluctantly]]

+ * [[reluctancy]]

+ * [[unreluctant]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[reluctance]]

+ * [[reluct]]

+ * [[reticent]]

+ * [[loath]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Dictionary.com distinguishes ''reluctant'', ''loath'' and ''averse'': ''reluctant'' suggests an inner struggle, for example between unwillingness and a sense of duty, ''loath'' a very strong unwillingness, and ''averse'' a settled but not especially strong dislike.^(Dictionary.com 2016) ''Reluctant'' is sometimes confused with ''reticent'', which means unwilling to speak about something.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}