Reticent vs. Reluctant

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hello, Martha, Grant. This is Rolf Gidlow from Stratton, Vermont.

Hi, Rolf.

What’s up?

Hi. I was calling because recently I’ve heard the word reticent used when I really think it should be reluctant.

And it happened often enough that I got to wondering if they’ve actually become, if those two words have actually become synonymous.

I don’t see them as being related at all.

But I think it was a radio reporter or something saying that so-and-so was reticent to say anything.

And clearly I would have used reluctant.

I know that words sometimes, their meaning shift.

And I was wondering if this might be one of those cases.

There has been a little bit of shift, but tell us, in your own words,

What you think the difference is between reluctant and reticent.

Well, I see reticent more as a characteristic, someone who’s maybe a little averse to speaking,

Who just doesn’t say much, or maybe a little taciturn, whereas reluctant is just not wanting

To say something because either you don’t want to hurt somebody’s feelings or else you

Don’t want to, like, if there’s something going on that you don’t want to conjecture,

You don’t want to offer information that may not be correct.

So I see reticent as a characteristic and reluctant as something that’s more an unwillingness to being cautious about speaking.

That could be used. The pragmatics of both of these words aren’t completely clear.

Probably more simply put, we might say that if you are reluctant, you can be reluctant to do anything.

So you can be reluctant to go jogging or reluctant to go to dinner with your in-laws or what have you.

But if you’re reticent, it really only applies to one thing.

You are reluctant to speak.

And whatever your motivations are for being reluctant, we don’t really know because it’s not contained within the meaning of the word.

But you’re reluctant to speak, and therefore you’re reticent.

But so the problem that you’re hearing, I’m pretty sure, because we’ve all seen it, and this is very common.

People say, he was reticent to go to the store to buy more milk, or he was reticent to stand up in court and speak up for himself.

You’re like, well, the first one is incorrect.

The second one is probably correct.

So reticent is just about speaking.

Yeah, and interestingly enough, I mean, you mentioned the word taciturn,

And both reticent and taciturn come from the same Latin root,

Which means to be silent.

It’s like tacit.

Yeah.

So there’s a connection there and a good way to remember it.

-huh.

And I like having the distinction.

Yeah.

To me, they mean very distinctly different things.

Mm—

Mm—

All right.

Well, thanks, Rolf, for the call.

I hope that helps.

You’re right.

Thank you very much.

We’re spot on.

Thanks, sir.

Bye-bye.

Okay.

Bye-bye.

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