Meanings
comparative more hesitant · superlative most hesitant
- Tending to hesitate, wait, or proceed with caution or reservation.
I am hesitant to recommend him as a manager because he has a short temper.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivelacking decisiveness of character; unable to act or decide quickly or firmly
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinhaereō
- Latinhaesitō
- Latinhaesitāns
- Englishhesitant
Borrowed from Latin haesitans, present participle of haesitare (“to stick fast, to hesitate”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian колеблив, нерешителен
- колеблив (kolebliv)tending to hesitate
- нерешителен (nerešitelen)tending to hesitate
Czech váhavý
- váhavýtending to hesitate
Dutch schoorvoetend, aarzelend
- schoorvoetendtending to hesitate
- aarzelendtending to hesitate
- weifelendtending to hesitate
Finnish epäröivä
- epäröivätending to hesitate
French hésitant
- hésitanttending to hesitate
German zögerlich
- zögerlichtending to hesitate
Greek διστακτικός
- διστακτικός (distaktikós)tending to hesitate
Hebrew הססן
- הססן (Hasesan)tending to hesitate
Hindi संकोची
- संकोची (saṅkocī)tending to hesitate
Icelandic hikandi, efablandinn
- hikanditending to hesitate
- efablandinntending to hesitate
- tvístíganditending to hesitate
- óákveðinntending to hesitate
- óráðinntending to hesitate
- á báðum áttumtending to hesitate
Italian esitante, titubante
- esitantetending to hesitate
- titubantetending to hesitate
Latin cunctans, haesitans
- cunctanstending to hesitate
- haesitanstending to hesitate
Māori pōkaku, hokirua
- pōkakutending to hesitate
- hokiruatending to hesitate
- kokekoketending to hesitate
- maunawenawetending to hesitate
- tikumutending to hesitate
Norwegian Bokmål nølende
- nølendetending to hesitate
Portuguese hesitante
- hesitantetending to hesitate
Russian неуверен
- неуверен (neuveren)tending to hesitate
Spanish vacilante, inseguro
- vacilantetending to hesitate
- insegurotending to hesitate
- titubeantetending to hesitate
- dubitativotending to hesitate
- indecisotending to hesitate
- irresolutotending to hesitate
Swedish tveksam, tvehågsen
- tveksamtending to hesitate
- tvehågsentending to hesitate
- villrådigtending to hesitate
- ambivalenttending to hesitate
- kluventending to hesitate
- veligtending to hesitate
- obeslutsamtending to hesitate
- vankelmodigtending to hesitate
Tagalog nag-aalinlangan
- nag-aalinlangantending to hesitate
Cite this entry
hesitant. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hesitant
“hesitant.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hesitant. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hesitant,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hesitant.
Source: hesitant on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.