hesitant
adjective /ˈhezɪtənt/
/ˈhezɪtənt/
- slow to speak or act because you feel uncertain, embarrassed or unwilling
- a hesitant smile
- the baby’s first few hesitant steps
- It was a few seconds before she heard a hesitant reply.
- hesitant about something She's hesitant about signing the contract.
- hesitant to do something Doctors are hesitant to comment on the new treatment.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryHesitant is used with these nouns:- step
Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin haesitant- ‘being undecided’, from the verb haesitare, from haerere ‘stick, stay’.