Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Not fully worked out, concluded, or agreed on; provisional.
- adjective Indicating a lack of confidence or certainty; hesitant.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Based on or consisting in trial or experiment; experimental; empirical.
- noun An essay; a trial; an experiment.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Of or pertaining to a trial or trials; essaying; experimental.
- noun An essay; a trial; an experiment.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
trial ; an experiment. - adjective Of or pertaining to a
trial or trials;essaying ;experimental . - adjective
Uncertain ; subject to future change.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective under terms not final or fully worked out or agreed upon
- adjective unsettled in mind or opinion
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Her expression tentative, she moved slowly toward the chair facing him and hesitantly sat down on it.
I’ll Walk Alone Mary Higgins Clark 2011
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Her expression tentative, she moved slowly toward the chair facing him and hesitantly sat down on it.
'I'll Walk Alone' 2011
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The comments from the E.C.B. president, Mario Draghi, came after the bank's decision to keep its benchmark interest rate steady, amid what it called "tentative" signs that the pace of an economic downturn in Europe had stabilized.
NYT > Home Page By MELISSA EDDY AND JULIA WERDIGIER 2012
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The comments from the E.C.B. president, Mario Draghi, came after the bank's decision to keep its benchmark interest rate steady, amid what it called "tentative" signs that the pace of an economic downturn in Europe had stabilized.
NYT > Global Home By MELISSA EDDY AND JULIA WERDIGIER 2012
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Department of Agriculture and Centers for Disease Control issued what they called tentative proposed standards for food marketed to children, defined as up to age
Reuters: Top News 2009
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As adults they remain tentative, withdrawn, and anxious.
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As adults they remain tentative, withdrawn, and anxious.
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For the most part, the links between particular traits and transmitter levels remain tentative, partly because the former can involve neurochemical choruses, not just solos.
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For the most part, the links between particular traits and transmitter levels remain tentative, partly because the former can involve neurochemical choruses, not just solos.
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Since the end of the war, the U.S. has engaged in tentative "talks" with the countries of Southeast Asia, primarily Vietnam, which has resulted in the return of several hundred sets of American remains.
Lawrence, Gregory P. 1990
penncl23 commented on the word tentative
I love to say words that have a lot of ts. I like the rhythm sound when I say it.
January 4, 2007
katiegiles commented on the word tentative
kellerman-flesh and blood: "I got out of the car, descended toward the construction site on foot, using a tentative quarter moon as my compass."
November 12, 2010