| 词组 | reticent, reticence |
| 释义 | reticent, reticence Reticent has recently developed a new sense, and usage watchers are not keeping quiet about it. In its older, better established uses, reticent can mean "inclined to be silent": • An extremely reticent man, Morris does not like to talk about his experience in personal terms —Helen Dudar, TV. Y. Times Mag., 30 Oct. 1977 or "restrained in expression or appearance": • ... two or three rather reticent abstract paintings — Jay Jacobs, Gourmet, January 1979 In its disputed sense, reticent is synonymous with reluctant or hesitant: • Bankers naturally are reticent to pay steep rates on deposits —William D. Hartley, Wall Street Jour., 29 Dec. 1969 This sense may have developed in the following way. With reticent in its "inclined to be silent" sense, a person may be said to be "reticent about" a particular subject. With a slight extension of meaning, a person may be said to be "reticent about discussing" a particular subject, in which case reticent is being used essentially as a synonym of hesitant, but still in a context that relates specifically to speech. The next step would be the use of reticent with an infinitive, still relating to speech: • ... its sponsors, not reticent to affirm their aspiration —Annual Report of the Librarian of Congress, 1952 • They were disturbed ... by my being reticent to talk about the collision —Peter Taylor, The Old Forest and Other Stories, 1985 Here reticent even more clearly means "hesitant" or "reluctant." In the final step, its associations with speech are entirely lost: • ... bluefish are extremely reticent to strike surface poppers —Robert P. Lawton, Massachusetts Wildlife, May-June 1980 • "But I'm reticent," she said, "to use real shells in my work...." —Angela Cummings, quoted in Town & Country, July 1981 • ... taxpayers have been reticent to put up the money —Connie Chung, television news broadcast, 24 Aug. 1985 The same extension of meaning has occurred with the noun reticence: • Retailers' reticence to place Christmas orders until late in the season —Stanley H. Slom, Wall Street Jour., 19 Sept. 1972 • ... criticized the reticence of West European governments to support American sanctions —TV. Y. Times, 19 Mar. 1980 • Arafat's reticence to talk is understandable —Peter Carlson, People, 1 Aug. 1983 However this new sense developed, there is no denying that it is now well established in the language, and chances are that it will grow more common in years to come. There is also no denying, however, that many people, including several usage commentators, regard it as an error. If you use it, do not be surprised to find yourself being corrected. |
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