reticent
reticent Lexical Profile
reticent Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Not revealing one's thoughts or feelings readily; inclined to be silent or uncommunicative.
"The witness remained remarkably reticent when questioned about her whereabouts on the evening of the incident."
Characterized by restraint or understatement in artistic expression, design, or style.
"The composer's late chamber works are praised for their emotionally reticent style and spare instrumentation."
Word Nuance & Usage
Traditionally, "reticent" refers strictly to a reluctance to speak or reveal one's thoughts; although it is increasingly used in informal contexts as a general synonym for "reluctant" (as in "reticent to accept the job"), careful writers reserve it for matters of speech and expression.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the early 19th century from Latin reticentem, the present participle of reticere ("to keep silent"), formed from re- (intensive prefix) and tacere ("to be silent").