Dictionary

hesitance en · NOUN

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin haereō Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tos Latin -tus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin -tō ▲ Latin -tō Latin -itō Latin -titō Latin haesitō Latin haesitāns Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ia Latin haesitantiabor. English hesitance Borrowed from Latin haesitantia.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) The act or state of hesitating.
   • […] Then California, resting the rifle / On the top rail, without doubting, without hesitance, / Aimed for the leaping body of the dog, and when it stood, fired. 1925, Robinson Jeffers, “Roan Stallion”, in The Selected Poetry of Robinson Jeffers, New York: Random House, published 1937, page 156:
   • No matter how much one denies it, there is always some hesitance when shooting an intimate scene. But an actor needs to shed inhibitions to look convincing. 2016 May 6, Times of India:
   • His hesitance was caused by bad past experiences.

Forms

Synonyms

hesitation