reticence
Part of speech: noun
Morphological type: simple
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.
Inflected forms:
form: reticences
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: reticense
pos: noun
tags: alternative
Senses:
gloss: Avoidance of saying or reluctance to say too much; discretion, tight-lippedness; (countable) an instance of acting in this manner.
pos: noun
tags: also
figuratively
uncountable
examples: [Y]ou paſſe ouer their teſtimonies, & his whole diſcourſe out of them, with a fraudulent reticence of the particulars, and thinke to be euen with them, making vp by ſcoffing, what you cannot by arguing, [...]
It must not be numbered among the obliviscences and reticenses of the candid reader, that this man, who had been [...] declared by the head of the Church of Christ, in a public instrument for the instruction and direction of all the faithful, that he was a man of very unsound doctrine, and guilty of many outrages against the holy see, should have been selected and appointed the sole plenipotentiary, delegate, and commissioner, on the part of the Church of Rome, to effect the desirable object of her reunion with the Church of England.
The painter's absurd fits of jealousy, his wild devotion, his extravagant panegyrics, his curious reticences—he understood them all now, and he felt sorry.
The greatest egotist has his reticenses. It is only during the sessions of sweet silent thought that a man can summon his soul to judgment.
He would not give me any further clue. You must not be angry with him, Art, because his very reticence means that all his brains are working for her good. He will speak plainly enough when the time comes, be sure.
We find the same evasions and reticences and the same trick of producing opinion by reiterated assertion that is successful precisely to the extent to which it avoids rational argument and the danger of awakening the critical faculties of the people.
That is why I regret that my arguments have not convinced many scholars, as shown by the reticenses of some here present.
But in my own experience, autobiographies have had little lure; repeatedly they assume too much or too little: too much in dreaming that one's own life has greatly influenced the world; too little in the reticences, repressions and distortions which come because men do not dare to be absolutely frank.
Even if we do not converse with others, our mutual reticence is experienced as reticence if our attention is not otherwise bound up, but is rather free to alight upon one another and linger or not, because we ourselves are free to pay out our attention in deliberate measures.
gloss: A silent and reserved nature.
pos: noun
tags: uncountable
examples: The determined reticence of Jasper, however, was not to be so approached. Impassive, moody, solitary, resolute, so concentrated on one idea, and on its attendant fixed purpose, that he would share it with no fellow-creature, he lived apart from human life.
gloss: Followed by of: discretion or restraint in the use of something.
pos: noun
tags: uncountable
examples: This is the reticence of temperament, and we see it in children from quite an early age—those children who are trusted by the servants, and are their favourites in consequence, because they tell no tales; but it is a disposition that may become dangerous unless watched, and that is always liable to degenerate into falsehood.
We learn from the Tribune that "the reticence of self-respect" is the proper and polite name for Major [William] McKinley's refusal to answer any question touching his position on the money question. [...] [I]t now appears that the term is also available for the use of candidates for high office, who do not wish to let people know what they think until they are nominated, while it is still not available for small private places.
gloss: Often followed by to: hesitancy or reluctance (to do something).
pos: noun
tags: proscribed
uncountable
examples: According to Anthony & Astorga (1997), the CATIE collection suffers the loss of some 250 individuals every year, which amounts to a general genetic erosion rate of 3% (4.8% for the wild genotypes). The expense of maintaining these collections, as well as the reticence of sponsors to finance such activities, are perhaps the most important factors affecting this erosion.
The honour of a household is inextricably linked to the reputation of the women who live there [...]. This reputation is sealed by their public display of shame, as manifest in a reticense towards appearing in public places.
Any reticence or wariness I felt for the Professor vanished the moment I saw him with my son, and from that point on I trusted him completely.
gloss: Synonym of aposiopesis (“an abrupt breaking-off in speech”).
pos: noun
tags: countable
obsolete
rhetoric
uncountable
examples: If the Comteſſe de la Motte, contented to load me with opprobrious language, and to make uſe of inſidious reticences, does not accept of this formal challenge, I muſt declare to her, once for all, that I ſhall give to all her reticences, to all her obloquy, paſt, preſent, and to come, an anſwer very laconic, perfectly clear, moſt energetic, [...] —Mentiris impudentissime [you lie shamelessly].
Oh! M. de Vieux, this elixir, and the gallows, will suit you … that you may know what it is to enjoy … / He was going to continue, or to be silent, after these reticenses, but Kant interrupted one or both of these things, [...]
Related words: reticency
reticent
reticently
Derived words: irreticence
nonreticence
Translations: