hesitance
Pause before committing
Hesitance is the quality of being hesitant—a tendency to pause or hold back before acting or speaking.
It suggests uncertainty or reluctance: There was hesitance in her voice when she agreed.
The word is interchangeable with hesitancy, though hesitancy appears more frequently.
Becoming unsteady or weak
- stammerSpeak with involuntary repetitions
- stutterInvoluntary speech repetition
- haltingMarked by hesitation
- stumbleLose footing momentarily
catch · break · delay · wait · interruption · hitch · suspension · lull
Inability to choose
- waveringShowing unsteady resolve
- ditheringProlonged indecisive hesitation
- equivocationAmbiguous language avoiding commitment
- irresolutionLack of firm decision
fence-sitting · flip-flopping · oscillation · teetering · undecidedness · noncommittal · tentativeness · ambivalence
Tendency toward social timidity
- bashfulnessTimid self-consciousness
- diffidenceModest self-distrust
- nervousnessState of anxious unease
- apprehensionNervous anticipation of trouble
trepidation · self-doubt · insecurity · fearfulness · timorousness · meekness · faintheartedness · coyness
Disposition toward doubt
- mistrustLack of faith
- suspicionSense of unease about motives
- warinessCautious distrust
- reservationAdvance arrangement to hold
qualm · misgivings · distrust · incredulity · questioning · scrutiny · cynicism · disbelief
Lack of desire
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
- foot-draggingDeliberate slowness or resistance
- demurVoice formal disagreement
- reticenceHabitual verbal restraint
aversion · scruples · unwillingness · recoil · holdback · balking · half-heartedness · grudgingness
Lack of confidence
- doubtLack of firm belief
- confusionMental disorientation or bewilderment
- perplexityMental state of confusion
- puzzlementState of being baffled
ambiguity · vagueness · indefiniteness · incertitude · unpredictability · cloudiness · haziness · dubiousness
faltering
Becoming unsteady or weak
- stammerSpeak with involuntary repetitions
- stutterInvoluntary speech repetition
- haltingMarked by hesitation
stumble · catch · break · delay · wait · interruption · hitch · suspension · lull · beat
vacillation
Inability to choose
- waveringShowing unsteady resolve
- ditheringProlonged indecisive hesitation
- equivocationAmbiguous language avoiding commitment
irresolution · fence-sitting · flip-flopping · oscillation · teetering · undecidedness · noncommittal · tentativeness · ambivalence · waffling
shyness
Tendency toward social timidity
- bashfulnessTimid self-consciousness
- diffidenceModest self-distrust
- nervousnessState of anxious unease
apprehension · trepidation · self-doubt · insecurity · fearfulness · timorousness · meekness · faintheartedness · coyness · reservedness
skepticism
Disposition toward doubt
reservation · qualm · misgivings · distrust · incredulity · questioning · scrutiny · cynicism · disbelief · reconsideration
disinclination
Lack of desire
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
- foot-draggingDeliberate slowness or resistance
- demurVoice formal disagreement
reticence · aversion · scruples · unwillingness · recoil · holdback · balking · half-heartedness · grudgingness · unenthusiasm
unsureness
Lack of confidence
- doubtLack of firm belief
- confusionMental disorientation or bewilderment
- perplexityMental state of confusion
puzzlement · ambiguity · vagueness · indefiniteness · incertitude · unpredictability · cloudiness · haziness · dubiousness · questionability
- silencequiet, silent, mute, hush, stillness
- speech tonessarcasm, sincerity, formality, informality, politeness
- vulnerabilityvulnerability, vulnerable, defenselessness, defenseless, helplessness
hesitancedecisiveness
Ability to choose firmly
determination · resoluteness · resolution · firmness · resolve
hesitanceeagerness
Intense willingness to act
willingness · readiness · alacrity · enthusiasm · inclination
hesitancecertainty
Total absence of doubt
certitude · sureness · confidence · assuredness · surety
- vaccine hesitancyReluctance to accept immunization