How to Use tentativeness in a Sentence

tentativeness

noun
Definition of tentativenessnext
  • There’s a delicacy and tentativeness to their feelings, one that makes its payoff all the more tender and hard-won.
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 1 June 2020
  • There’s a tentativeness to the way Benne, who’s still a playwriting student at what was formerly known as the Yale School of Drama, lifts off from this ground of realism.
    — Charles McNultytheater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2022
  • Last year, as weeks of quality time morphed into months, the baby’s tentativeness melted away.
    — Dallas News, 7 May 2021
  • There were moments of trepidation and tentativeness along the way, with Izzo imploring Akins to crash the boards and attack the basket harder during both of his returns.
    — Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, 21 Dec. 2022
  • Although a portion of his possessions were still tinged with tentativeness, Williams returned a bullying bounce to several drives to the basket.
    — Julia Poe, chicagotribune.com, 30 Mar. 2022
  • Even though Bickerstaff disagrees, there was a noticeable tentativeness to Nance’s game.
    — Chris Fedor, cleveland, 9 Jan. 2021
  • Many cite the overall uncertainty of the pandemic for their tentativeness, but some point to the likelihood of additional outbreaks,...
    — Allison Prang, WSJ, 28 June 2020
  • There’s a tentativeness in Criss’ performance that exists parallel to and apart from the character of Bobby’s own nervous energy.
    — Daniel D'addario, Variety, 14 Apr. 2022
  • In each configuration, the foursome found a way of drawing strength from the freedom in Nuttall’s playing, rather than succumbing to a deferential tentativeness.
    — Jeremy Eichler, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Jan. 2023
  • What was more surprising was that the witness transcripts from the House Science Committee showed the highest number of words conveying tentativeness and the lowest number of words conveying certainty.
    — Maya Kornberg, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2021
  • The tentativeness with which anybody addresses Donald Trump is hilarious.
    — Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Oct. 2022
  • This book is one of his finest, an intoxicating cocktail of passion mixed with tentativeness, precision mixed with ambiguity, that trains our attention on the intimations of the divine that are frequently hidden in everyday landscapes and encounters.
    — Washington Post, 19 Nov. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tentativeness.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: