reticent
ret·i·cent/ˈrɛt ə sənt/adjective
reticent is spelled R-E-T-I-C-E-N-T: 8 letters and 3 syllables (ret·i·cent). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,947th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, reticent means “Unwilling to communicate; keeping one's thoughts and opinions to oneself; reserved or restrained” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in reticent?
| Letters | 8: R-E-T-I-C-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: ret·i·cent |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 45,947th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is reticent?
Reticent appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,947th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce reticent?
- UK /ˈɹɛtɪsənt/
- US /ˈrɛt ə sənt/
Reticent has 3 syllables, split ret·i·cent in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-reticent.ogg, En-au-reticent.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of reticent
- more reticent comparative
- most reticent superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does reticent mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Unwilling to communicate; keeping one's thoughts and opinions to oneself; reserved or restrained.
She's rather reticent on the subject of her finances.
- 2
proscribedHesitant or not wanting to take some action; reluctant (usually followed by a verb in the infinitive).
He is reticent to travel so much.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Reticent in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | réticent, hésitant |
| German | still, verschwiegen, zurückhaltend , zögerlich, unwillig |
| Portuguese | reticente |
| Spanish | reticente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does reticent come from?
Latin reticēns, present participle of reticeō (“to keep silence”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).