reticent

UK: /ˈrɛtɪsənt/ US: /ˈrɛtəsənt/ ,(ret′ə sənt)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ret•i•cent /ˈrɛtəsənt/   adj. 

1. willing or accustomed to be silent;
   reserved:
   was reticent about her private life.

ret•i•cence, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ret•i•cent  (ret′ə sənt), adj. 

1. disposed to be silent or not to speak freely;
   reserved.
2. reluctant or restrained.

• Latin reticent- (stem of reticēns), present participle of reticēre to be silent, equivalent. to re- re- + -tic-, combining form of tacēre to be silent (compare tacit) + -ent- -ent
• 1825–35

ret′i•cence, ret′i•cen•cy, n. 
ret′i•cent•ly, adv. 
Synonyms

• 1. taciturn, quiet, uncommunicative.

Antonyms

• 1. talkative, voluble.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

reticent / ˈrɛtɪsənt/ adjective

1. not open or communicative; not saying all that one knows; taciturn; reserved

Etymology: 19th Century: from Latin reticēre to keep silent, from re- + tacēre to be silent

ˈreticence noun

ˈreticently adverb