hesitant

Hesitant is an adjective describing a state of uncertainty or delay in decision or action. A hesitant person may pause before acting, seek additional information, or express doubt about a course of action. The term can describe attitudes, responses, or movements that are not fully confident or decisive.

Etymology: The word derives from the verb hesitate, from Old French hesiter and Latin haesitare, from haerere “to stick” or “to cling.” The sense evolved to describe delaying or doubting before speaking or acting. The adjective hesitant entered English in the early modern period.

Usage and contexts: In everyday language, hesitant describes cautious or unsure behavior, often with to-infinitive: hesitant to commit, hesitant about the plan. In linguistics, hesitation can refer to a speech disfluency or a marked pause. In psychology, hesitation may reflect deliberative processing, risk assessment, or anxiety, and may be studied in decision-making tasks or as a trait associated with indecisiveness.

Related terms: Hesitation (the noun), hesitant (the adjective form), indecisive, tentative, and cautious are closely connected. The term is commonly used across disciplines and in common speech to convey doubt, caution, or a reluctance to proceed.