Reticent Meaning and Usage

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Meaning:

Adjective:

- Inclined to keep one's thoughts, feelings, and personal affairs to oneself.
- Restrained or reserved in style.
- Reluctant to speak

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Derivatives:

Reticency - Noun
Reticence - Noun
Reticently - Adverb

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Synonyms:
aloof, close, distant, incommunicable, mum offish, quiet, remote, reserved, restrained, retiring, secretive, silent, solitary, standoffish, taciturn, unapproachable, unassertive, uncommunicative, undemonstrative, unemotional, withdrawn.

Antonyms:
communicative, expansive, forward, unrestrained, garrulous, loquacious, voluble

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Use reticent in a sentence:

1. Bill was understandably reticent about the lipstick on his collar.

2. Hillary became abruptly reticent when asked about the box of chocolates under the couch.

3. The student was reticent to express his opinions and ideas in class discussions.

4. Like most tightfisted men, he was exceedingly reticent about his will.

5. That evening he was surprisingly reticent about his war experiences.

6. Physically small and reticent in her speech, Joan Didion often went unnoticed by those upon whom she was reporting.

7. A lawyer must have great reticence in discussing matters that could violate his client's rights.

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Do you know:

In its traditional sense, reticent means unwilling to communicate. Thus it is more nearly a synonym for silent than it is for reluctant: It is, however, increasingly seen in contexts in which it conveys other kinds of reluctance. Many regard this as a misuse, and in fact such usages tend to convey nothing that reluctant would not convey better.

If a person is reluctant, he’s unwilling to do something; if reticent, he’s unwilling to speak. Reticent refers to a subset of the meaning of reluctant. Compare “He’s reluctant to talk about that issue” with “He’s reticent on that issue”. The result is the same either way. If you’re reticent, you can very easily also give the impression of being reluctant to act or hesitant about doing so.

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Some more examples:

1. He was never reticent about wanting the job.

2. The girls' reticence made it difficult to determine what she was feeling.

3. As the days went by, he became more reticent than ever.

4. While his acquaintances continually vociferated opinions, scandals, experiences, or anecdotes, he remained imperturbably reticent and subdued.

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