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unwillingness

unwillingness

34 3.9
A feeling of not wanting to do something
  • noun
  • /ʌnˈwɪlɪŋnəs/
translation icon : reticencia
  • Her unwillingness to try new things has held her back in her career.
  • unwillingness to accept
  • unwillingness or inability
  • apparent unwillingness

We are saying to them that your unwillingness is acceptable, but it's not.

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Examples

  • Bruce Lee proved the doctors wrong through sheer persistence and his unwillingness to accept the feat.

  • Einstein was making a comment on the unwillingness of people to think for themselves.

  • And she has a great idea, but it's her lack of power combined with their unwillingness to hear her.

  • What can explain this unwillingness to accept partnership, a prior condition of leadership?

    Academic text (1999)
  • I think it's worth saying one of the problems with depression is that unwillingness to seek out any sort of help anyway.

  • I understood that this unwillingness to let go was all we had left of one another.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • We are saying to them that your unwillingness is acceptable, but it's not.

  • Her anger over his unwillingness to save everyone on the plane was no greater than his own.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • And that resistance is your unwillingness to forgive yourself or see your humanity.

  • The government's hostile response to feminist demands demonstrated the general unwillingness to extend the promise of liberty and equality to women.

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

refusal
vsunwillingness
122 1.4

An act of saying you will not accept or agree to something

is the general state term rather than a single clear action
reluctance
vsunwillingness
68 3.6

A feeling of not wanting to do something or showing little interest

has the same meaning, naming the state rather than the feeling
hesitancy
vsunwillingness
7 4.2

A short pause before you act because you are not sure

refers to the overall state of not ready to act rather than only indecision
hesitance
vsunwillingness
3 5.3

A short pause before doing or saying something because you feel unsure

is the general state term covering that doubt and lack of readiness
disinclination
vsunwillingness
  • Formal
2 8.0

A feeling of not wanting to do something

is a general state without implying strong action or outright rejection
unreadiness
vsunwillingness
1 5.7

A lack of preparation or unwillingness to do something when needed

is the broader state covering lack of readiness, not only preparation
indisposition
vsunwillingness
1 7.7

A small feeling of not wanting to do something

refers to the overall state and can be stronger than this mild form

Antonyms

194 2.8

Readiness to do something without complaining

65 2.7

Willing and prepared to do something

How Willing

eagerness
23 2.5
willingness
194 2.8
hesitation
110 2.8
unwillingness
34 3.9
reluctance
68 3.6

Surface Forms

unwillingness singular

Morphology

unwillingness = unwilling (transparent) = un + willing + ness

The noun is a standard nominalization of the adjective 'unwilling' (un- + willing) and directly denotes the state of not being willing.

Etymology

The word unwillingness is made of un- 'not', willing 'ready or happy to do something', and -ness 'a state or quality'. So unwillingness is the state of not being ready or not wanting to do something, in other words 'reluctance'.