reticence
Holding one's tongue
Reticence is a reluctance to speak freely or reveal one's thoughts.
A reticent person holds back, offering little in conversation or keeping opinions private: His reticence about his past only fueled speculation.
The word suggests restraint rather than inability—someone who could say more but chooses not to.
Disinclined to speak
- uncommunicativenessUnwillingness to share information
- quietnessLack of sound
- wordlessnessLacking verbal expression
- mutenessInability to speak
tight-lipped · terseness · brevity · laconicism · unresponsiveness · closemouthed · unforthcoming · monosyllabic
Supply kept back
- diffidenceModest self-distrust
- timidityFearful lack of courage
- bashfulnessTimid self-consciousness
- introversionInward-directed temperament
self-consciousness · inhibition · withdrawal · guardedness · aloofness · standoffishness · constraint · awkwardness
Careful, wise judgment
- circumspectionCareful consideration of consequences
- tactfulnessSkill in sensitive situations
- restraintControl over impulses
- cautionCareful attention to risk
judiciousness · diplomacy · measured · careful · delicacy · understatement · subtlety · propriety
Delay from uncertainty
- unwillingnessDisinclination to act
- disinclinationLack of desire
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
- demurralFormal expression of objection
foot-dragging · avoidance · evasion · stonewalling · withholding · nondisclosure · tight-lipped · cagey
Quality of protecting secrets
- secrecyPractice of hiding information
- concealmentAct of hiding something
- nondisclosureConcealment of information
- closednessState of being sealed
inaccessibility · opacity · impenetrability · exclusivity · protectiveness · boundaries · personal · withdrawn
taciturnity
Disinclined to speak
- uncommunicativenessUnwillingness to share information
- quietnessLack of sound
- wordlessnessLacking verbal expression
muteness · tight-lipped · terseness · brevity · laconicism · unresponsiveness · closemouthed · unforthcoming · monosyllabic · guarded
reserve
Supply kept back
- diffidenceModest self-distrust
- timidityFearful lack of courage
- bashfulnessTimid self-consciousness
introversion · self-consciousness · inhibition · withdrawal · guardedness · aloofness · standoffishness · constraint · awkwardness · wallflower
prudence
Careful, wise judgment
- circumspectionCareful consideration of consequences
- tactfulnessSkill in sensitive situations
- restraintControl over impulses
caution · judiciousness · diplomacy · measured · careful · delicacy · understatement · subtlety · propriety · appropriateness
hesitation
Delay from uncertainty
- unwillingnessDisinclination to act
- disinclinationLack of desire
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
demurral · foot-dragging · avoidance · evasion · stonewalling · withholding · nondisclosure · tight-lipped · cagey · uncooperative
confidentiality
Quality of protecting secrets
- secrecyPractice of hiding information
- concealmentAct of hiding something
- nondisclosureConcealment of information
closedness · inaccessibility · opacity · impenetrability · exclusivity · protectiveness · boundaries · personal · withdrawn · cloistered
- secrecysecrecy, secret, secrets, confidential, classified
- introversionintroversion, solitude, alone time, isolation, loner
- reluctancereluctance, unwillingness, disinclination, hesitation, reservations
- nonparticipationnonparticipation, noninvolvement, noninterference, nonintervention, abstention
- subtletysubtlety, understatement, understated, delicacy, hint
- brevitybrevity, concise, succinct, terse, pithy
reticencetalkativeness
Inclination to speak extensively
loquacity · volubility · garrulousness · verbosity · effusiveness
reticenceopenness
Quality of being accessible
frankness · candor · forthrightness · communicativeness · transparency
reticenceforwardness
Undue familiarity or boldness
boldness · assertiveness · brashness · outgoingness · gregariousness