non-committal
Refusing to decide
Non-committal describes responses or attitudes that avoid taking a definite position.
A non-committal answer neither agrees nor disagrees: She gave a non-committal shrug when asked about the promotion.
The word often implies deliberate evasiveness—someone being non-committal may be hedging their bets or unwilling to be pinned down.
Unclear, ill-defined
- equivocatingSpeaking with deliberate ambiguity
- sidesteppingMoving aside to avoid
- dodgingAvoiding by moving aside
- elusiveHard to find
cagey · guarded · hedging · deflecting · circumlocutory · prevaricating · oblique · slippery
Slow to act
- waveringShowing unsteady resolve
- vacillatingSwaying between choices
- undecidedNot having chosen
- uncertainNot firmly known
irresolute · tentative · unsure · ambivalent · dithering · wishy-washy · shilly-shallying · fence-sitting
Emotionally withdrawn, uninviting
- disengagedNot participating or invested
- uninvolvedNot taking part
- distantFar away or aloof
- removedTaken from position
standoffish · cool · indifferent · dispassionate · unattached · withdrawn · hands-off · casual
vague
Unclear, ill-defined
- equivocatingSpeaking with deliberate ambiguity
- sidesteppingMoving aside to avoid
- dodgingAvoiding by moving aside
elusive · cagey · guarded · hedging · deflecting · circumlocutory · prevaricating · oblique · slippery · shifty
hesitant
Slow to act
- waveringShowing unsteady resolve
- vacillatingSwaying between choices
- undecidedNot having chosen
uncertain · irresolute · tentative · unsure · ambivalent · dithering · wishy-washy · shilly-shallying · fence-sitting · half-hearted
aloof
Emotionally withdrawn, uninviting
- disengagedNot participating or invested
- uninvolvedNot taking part
- distantFar away or aloof
removed · standoffish · cool · indifferent · dispassionate · unattached · withdrawn · hands-off · casual · nonchalant
non-committaldecisive
Quick to conclude
definite · unequivocal · categorical · resolute · firm
non-committalcommitted
Firmly pledged or bound
dedicated · devoted · pledged · wholehearted · enthusiastic