How to Use hesitant in a Sentence

hesitant

adjective
Definition of hesitantnext
Synonyms for hesitantnext
  • She took a hesitant step back from the door.
  • He seems hesitant about accepting the job.
  • The Knicks were hesitant about the price tag at the time, electing to save cap space for something down the road.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 28 Apr. 2023
  • In the season 2 premiere, the answer seems to be a hesitant no.
    — Aimée Lutkin, ELLE, 22 June 2023
  • The first episode was filmed in the home, though its owner was hesitant about hosting a film crew.
    — Anna Kodé, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2024
  • The girl seemed hesitant to eat the food at first, and continued to sit still even after it was brought to her.
    — Liam Quinn, Peoplemag, 25 Mar. 2024
  • At the time, many artists and labels were still hesitant about embracing the app.
    — Elias Leight, Billboard, 23 Feb. 2024
  • But Woo is hesitant to call it a straight Christmas movie.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 1 Dec. 2023
  • Roman wants to bring Shiv into the plan but Kendall is hesitant.
    — Erica Gonzales, ELLE, 25 Apr. 2023
  • In fact, the staff was initially hesitant to make them.
    — Shauna Stuart | Sstuart@al.com, al, 17 July 2023
  • Burress was hesitant to leave his tent during the cleanup.
    — Helen Rummel, The Arizona Republic, 19 July 2023
  • Utah, one of the most hesitant of the Pac-12 schools to consider a change in conferences, was left without much choice.
    — Kevin Reynolds, The Salt Lake Tribune, 4 Aug. 2023
  • If the Senate signs off, the plan heads to the historically hesitant House.
    — Allie Morris, Dallas News, 6 Apr. 2023
  • The director wrote the project as a single film, but Netflix was hesitant to take it on because the script clocked in at 172 pages.
    — Zack Sharf, Variety, 7 Nov. 2023
  • Parramore was hesitant at first and asked Chang to write down six goals before making a deal with her.
    — Michael Butler, Miami Herald, 16 Feb. 2024
  • The fear of not being able to return has made Gazans extremely hesitant to leave their homes.
    — Yasmine Salam, NBC News, 23 Oct. 2023
  • That may be due to the fact the actor was hesitant to uproot or leave her family behind.
    — Jenelle Riley, Variety, 28 Dec. 2023
  • Again, for better and for worse, the EU is more hesitant to use direct coercion than is the United States.
    — Henry Farrell, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2023
  • But Wampler is hesitant to set a price tag until the final designs are chosen.
    — Randy Mason, Kansas City Star, 23 Feb. 2024
  • And it's been a favorite of Fleetwood Mac fans — as a result, Fleetwood was hesitant to reinterpret the hit.
    — Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 12 July 2023
  • At first, the rising rap star (real name Isis Naija Gaston) was a bit hesitant.
    — Sadie Bell, Peoplemag, 7 Dec. 2023
  • Some people might be hesitant to sign on for a subscription plan.
    — Dorian Smith-Garcia, Parents, 18 Aug. 2023
  • In some areas, people have been hesitant to conduct prescribed fires, and that has led to an overgrowth of woody plants, such as sumac and sand plum.
    — Karen Hickman, The Conversation, 1 Mar. 2024
  • Throughout the conflict, Kyiv has been hesitant to admit how many soldiers have been killed.
    — Stephanie Halasz, CNN, 25 Feb. 2024
  • At first, Brown was hesitant about the mustard yellow sofa.
    — Megan Stein, Peoplemag, 2 Aug. 2023
  • In Dubona, residents seemed hesitant about turning in their weapons at all.
    — Constant Méheut, BostonGlobe.com, 6 May 2023
  • For this reason, Saudi Arabia has been hesitant to push it too hard.
    — Adam Taylor, Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2023
  • In the months after Nijjar’s death, his son was hesitant to speak publicly.
    — Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 20 Sep. 2023
  • The threat of steep penalties for physicians — including prison time, fines and a loss of licensure — has left them hesitant to provide care, the group says.
    — Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 12 Sep. 2023
  • Despite the all the pros, DeGeneres was initially hesitant to purchase it.
    — Antonia Debianchi, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hesitant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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