reserved

re·served
R1E1S1E1R1V4E1D2
US/ɹɪˈzɝvd/UK/ɹɪˈzɜːvd/

adjective

Self-restrained in the expression of emotions or opinions.

“He was a quiet, reserved person.”

Opposite
Very commonScrabble 12

Meanings

verb
  1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of reserve
adjectivereserved (comparative more reserved, superlative most reserved)

comparative more reserved · superlative most reserved

  1. comparableSelf-restrained in the expression of emotions or opinions.

    He was a quiet, reserved person.

    2 more examples

    Near-synonyms: taciturn, untalkative; see also Thesaurus:taciturn

    Before I met Mr. Bowen Cooke I had been given to understand that he was of a reserved nature, and on occasion could be a "bit of a martinet"; [...].

    1942 July-August, Chas. S. Lake, “Some C.M.Es. I Have Known: II—C. J. Bowen Cooke”, in Railway Magazine, page 223

    Synonyms: restrained, reticent

  2. not comparableSet aside for a particular person or purpose; spoken for.

    Near-synonyms: allocated, assigned, dedicated

    3 more examples

    I'm sorry, sir, but these are reserved seats.

    A special reserved enclosure with sandbags and a corrugated iron roof was set aside for three members of the Royal Family.

    1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, When the World Screamed

    The LNER website, for example, tries to stop people buying off-peak tickets for services that the company reckons are full, even though there is nothing to prevent people without a seat reservation from getting on a particular service. Indeed, I did so recently on the Inverness midday train, which is a superb service to York, and inevitably there were plenty of reserved seats where the passengers had not turned up.

    2024 July 24, Christian Wolmar, “Overcrowded trains... and inconvenience for passengers”, in RAIL, number 1014, page 44

    Synonyms: in reserve, allocated, assigned, dedicated

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveSelf-restrained in the expression of emotions or opinions.

adjectiveSet aside for a particular person or purpose; spoken for.

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiveset aside for the use of a particular person or party

Opposite

adjectivemarked by self-restraint and reticence

Opposite

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Arabic مَحْجُوز
  • مَحْجُوز (maḥjūz)set aside for a particular person or purpose
Bulgarian сдържан, резервиран
  • сдържан (sdăržan)slow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • резервиран (rezerviran)slow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • запасен (zapasen)set aside for a particular person or purpose
  • резервен (rezerven)set aside for a particular person or purpose
Catalan reservat, reservat
  • reservatslow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • reservatset aside for a particular person or purpose
Chinese Mandarin 含蓄, 矜持
  • 含蓄 (hánxù)slow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • 矜持 (jīnchí)slow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • 拘謹 /拘谨 (jūjǐn)slow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • 專用的 /专用的 (zhuānyòng de)set aside for a particular person or purpose
Czech odměřený, rezervovaný
  • odměřenýslow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • rezervovanýslow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • rezervovanýset aside for a particular person or purpose
Danish reserveret, reserveret
  • reserveretslow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • reserveretset aside for a particular person or purpose
Dutch terughoudend
  • terughoudendslow to reveal emotion or opinions
Esperanto rezerviĝema, rezervita
  • rezerviĝemaslow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • rezervitaset aside for a particular person or purpose
Estonian reserveeritud
  • reserveeritudset aside for a particular person or purpose
Finnish pidättyväinen, varautunut
  • pidättyväinenslow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • varautunutslow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • varattuset aside for a particular person or purpose
French réservé, réservé
  • réservéslow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • réservéset aside for a particular person or purpose
German reserviert, reserviert
  • reserviertslow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • reserviertset aside for a particular person or purpose
Greek ρεζερβέ
  • ρεζερβέ (rezervé)set aside for a particular person or purpose
Hungarian zárkózott, foglalt
  • zárkózottslow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • foglaltset aside for a particular person or purpose
  • lefoglaltset aside for a particular person or purpose
Japanese 引っ込み思案, 予約済み
  • 引っ込み思案 (hikkomi-jian)slow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • 予約済み (yoyaku-zumi)set aside for a particular person or purpose
Latin verēcundus
  • verēcundusslow to reveal emotion or opinions
Māori nguengue, ngākau tōngā
  • nguengueslow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • ngākau tōngāslow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • hūnguengueslow to reveal emotion or opinions
Norwegian reservert
  • reservertset aside for a particular person or purpose
Norwegian Bokmål reservert
  • reservertslow to reveal emotion or opinions
Persian کمحرف, تودار
  • کمحرف (kam-harf)slow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • تودار (tudâr)slow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • رزروشده (rezerv-šode)set aside for a particular person or purpose
Polish powściągliwy, zarezerwowany
  • powściągliwyslow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • zarezerwowanyset aside for a particular person or purpose
Portuguese reservado, reservado
  • reservadoslow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • reservadoset aside for a particular person or purpose
Russian скры́тный, сде́ржанный
  • скры́тный (skrýtnyj)slow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • сде́ржанный (sdéržannyj)slow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • за́мкнутый (zámknutyj)slow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • зарезерви́рованный (zarezervírovannyj)set aside for a particular person or purpose
Spanish reservado, reservado
  • reservadoslow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • reservadoset aside for a particular person or purpose
Swedish tillbakadragen, reserverad
  • tillbakadragenslow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • reserveradslow to reveal emotion or opinions
  • reserveradset aside for a particular person or purpose
Turkish mesafeli
  • mesafelislow to reveal emotion or opinions

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

reserved. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reserved

MLA

“reserved.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reserved. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “reserved,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reserved.

Source: reserved on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.