hesitance

English

Alternative forms

• hæsitancy (archaic)
• hesitancy

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin haereō

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -ō

Latin -tō

▲

Latin -tō

Latin -itō

Latin -titō

Latin haesitō

Latin haesitāns

Proto-Indo-European *-yós

Proto-Italic *-ios

Old Latin -ios

Latin -ius

Latin -ia

Latin haesitantiabor.

English hesitance

Borrowed from Latin haesitantia.

Noun

hesitance (countable and uncountable, plural hesitances)

1. The act or state of hesitating.

   Synonym: hesitation

   His hesitance was caused by bad past experiences.

   • 1925, Robinson Jeffers, “Roan Stallion”, in The Selected Poetry of Robinson Jeffers‎^[1], New York: Random House, published 1937, page 156:

     […] Then California, resting the rifle / On the top rail, without doubting, without hesitance, / Aimed for the leaping body of the dog, and when it stood, fired.

   • 2016 May 6, Times of India:

     No matter how much one denies it, there is always some hesitance when shooting an intimate scene. But an actor needs to shed inhibitions to look convincing.

Translations

act of hesitating — see hesitation

Anagrams

• echinates