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# reticence

«reticence» in Mova's school dictionary: **The habit of not saying much, or of keeping your feelings…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (reticence; uncountable)

### meaning for a pupil

1) The habit of not saying much, or of keeping your feelings and thoughts to yourself. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reticence/#m1)

2) (sometimes, informal) Unwillingness to do something; reluctance. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reticence/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In stories it describes quiet, private characters: «Despite his reticence, he was kind». In formal writing: «reticence about discussing money». In everyday life: some people are naturally reticent and need time to share. Phrases: «reticence about», «his usual reticence», «overcome her reticence».

### examples

- Despite her reticence, Mia told the teacher what had happened. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reticence/#x1)
- His reticence made some people think he was unfriendly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reticence/#x2)
- Grandad's reticence about the war meant he rarely talked about it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reticence/#x3)
- She overcame her reticence and sang in front of the class. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reticence/#x4)
- The detective noticed the witness's reticence. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reticence/#x5)
- Reticence is not the same as rudeness; some people are just quiet. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reticence/#x6)

### note

Uncountable. Adjective: «reticent» (quiet, reserved). Stress: RET-i-sense. Traditionally it means «not speaking much»; using it to mean simply «reluctant» is common but some teachers mark it as a mistake.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «reticence» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reticence/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.