tentativeness
- noun
- /ˈtɛntətɪv.nəs/
- As she approached the microphone, there was a noticeable tentativeness in her voice, hinting at her lack of confidence.
If a person in a new relationship is healthy, they'll be OK with your tentativeness, maybe of how you want to take things at a more reasonable pace and then great.
- If a person in a new relationship is healthy, they'll be OK with your tentativeness, maybe of how you want to take things at a more reasonable pace and then great.
Examples
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His tentativeness when making decisions led others to doubt his leadership abilities.
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Even there, his tentativeness gives a clue to the inductive course of his thinking.
Academic text (2013) -
But were sales being made with so much tentativeness in the global economy?
Blog text (6) -
As he came toward me, I saw a tentativeness in his usually confident step.
Fiction book (1999) -
"I mean to emphasize the tentativeness, the modesty, the austerity of our work.
Academic text (1998) -
Portes's tentativeness about the effectiveness of that process is warranted.
Academic text (1998) -
In the few offhand moments that she has talked about her husbands, her feelings were released only with hesitation and tentativeness.
Academic text (1990) -
Her tentativeness resonated more with contemporary cultural messages in spite of her nostalgia for Victorian standards.
Academic text (1994) -
Although evidence suggests teachers have had a rational basis for identifying more Black children as appropriate for referral, the tentativeness of this suggestion must be underscored.
Academic text (1991) -
The history of science, replete with even wholesale revisions in understanding, engenders modesty and formal tentativeness.
Blog text (17)
Synonyms
A feeling of not being sure about something
Not being sure about what will happen or what to do
A short pause before you speak or act because you feel unsure
A short pause before you act because you are not sure
A short pause before doing or saying something because you feel unsure
A feeling of doubt or low confidence
A feeling of not being sure or confident about something
A state of not knowing what will happen
A feeling of not being sure about something
Not being able to make firm decisions
A feeling of doubt or uncertainty about something
Antonyms
How Certain
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Tentativeness comes from the old Latin word tentare, which means 'to try', and you can see the same root in tentative and attempt. So, tentativeness means being unsure or hesitant, like testing something carefully before you decide.