reticence
pronunciation
How to pronounce reticence in British English:
UK ['retɪsns]
How to pronounce reticence in American English:
US [ˈrɛtɪsəns]
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- Noun:
- the trait of being uncommunicative; not volunteering anything more than necessary
Word Origin
- reticence (n.)
- c. 1600, from Middle French réticence (16c.), from Latin reticentia "silence, a keeping silent," from present participle stem of reticere "keep silent," from re- (see re-), + tacere "be silent" (see tacit). "Not in common use until after 1830" [OED].
Example
- 1. There are several reasons for this reticence .
- 2. But why the reticence when I inquired about the hainan development ?
- 3. There is something admirable in his reticence , but he needs to overcome it .
- 4. This reticence does much to explain recent events on either side of the atlantic .
- 5. Such reticence makes political sense .