hesitance

noun

hes·​i·​tance ˈhe-zə-tən(t)s How to pronounce hesitance (audio)
Synonyms of hesitancenext
: hesitancy

Synonyms of hesitance

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of hesitance in a Sentence

sales figures for the month were up, as consumers began to overcome their hesitance about purchasing big-ticket items she mistook my hesitance to mean I didn't like her poem, but I was trying to come up with appropriate words of praise
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Stewart’s comments come after Lorre detailed his hesitance to cast Faris in the series’ lead role. — Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Oct. 2026 However, Pritzker’s hesitance to deploy a comprehensive solution to data centers could be his Achilles’ heel in the primaries. — Patrick McNamara, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026 That hesitance in the Republican Party coexists with palpable relief that there’s a ceasefire agreement in the Middle East after months of strikes on Iran. — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 15 June 2026 Others, like Choi, believe that knowledge gaps are to blame for donor hesitance to get involved. — Angelica Ang, Fortune, 25 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for hesitance

Word History

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hesitance was in 1601

Browse Nearby Words

Hesione
hesitance
hesitancy
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hesitance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hesitance. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of Pyrrhic

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
couple-laugh-cafe
Quiz: Foreign Phrases You Should Know Check out your bona fides and avoid any faux pas.
See All