# reticence

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɹɛtɪs(ə)ns/ · frequency rank #47,304

## Definitions
1. Avoidance of saying or reluctance to say too much; discretion, tight-lippedness; (countable) an instance of acting in this manner.
2. A silent and reserved nature.
3. Followed by of: discretion or restraint in the use of something.
4. Often followed by to: hesitancy or reluctance (to do something).
5. Synonym of aposiopesis (“an abrupt breaking-off in speech”).

## Etymology
The noun is borrowed from Middle French réticence (“act of keeping silent, silence; reserve; aposiopesis”) (modern French réticence (“tight-lippedness, reticence”)), or derived from its etymon Latin reticentia (“act of keeping silent, silence; aposiopesis”), from reticēns (“keeping silent, reticent, silent; keeping secret, concealing”) + -ia (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). Reticēns is the present active participle of reticeō (“to keep silent; to keep secret, conceal”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + taceō (“to be silent, keep quiet”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tak- or *tHk-). The English word is cognate with Italian reticenza (“reticence”), Portuguese reticência, Spanish reticencia (“reticence; reluctance”).
The verb is derived from the noun.

## Easily confused with
- **reticent** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reticence-vs-reticent)
- **residence** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/residence-vs-reticence)

## Common misspellings (14)
`erticence`, `reitcence`, `retcience`, `reticance`, `reticcence`, `reticecne`, `reticencce`, `reticenec`, `reticennce`, `reticnece`, `retiecnce`, `retticence`, `rreticence`, `rteicence`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/reticence