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# reluctant

adjective (reluctant; more reluctant, most reluctant)

«reluctant» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

Not wanting to do something, and so slow to do it. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reluctant/#m1)

### In the lessons

In stories it shows a character's feeling: a reluctant hero. In everyday life children may be reluctant to go to bed or try new food. Phrases: reluctant to, a reluctant reader, a reluctant hero.

### Examples

- He was reluctant to jump into the cold water. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reluctant/#x1)
- She was a reluctant reader until she found comics. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reluctant/#x2)
- The dog was reluctant to leave the beach. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reluctant/#x3)
- I was reluctant to tell Mum about the broken vase. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reluctant/#x4)
- The reluctant hero finally agreed to help. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reluctant/#x5)
- They were reluctant to spend all their savings. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reluctant/#x6)
- She seemed very reluctant, but at last she said: [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reluctant/#x7)

### Note

Adverb: reluctantly; noun: reluctance. Followed by «to» + verb: reluctant to go. Same family as unwilling; opposite of eager or keen.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «reluctant» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reluctant/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«reluctant» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/reluctant.html) on Mova free.