Such despotic talk had never been heard before in that Directors' Room

They relucted a moment. T. Winthrop, Love and Skates. reluctance (rē-luk'tans), n. [= Pg . reluct an cia = It. reluttanza , reluctant i a , reluc tan(t-)s, reluctant: see reluctant .] The state of being reluctant; aversion; repugnance; un willingne : often followed by to , sometimes by against. rely When he [Æneas] is forced, in his own defence, to kill Lausus, the poet shows him compa ionate, and tempering the severity of his looks with a reluctance to the action. Dryden , Parallel of Poetry and Painting. Lay we aside all inveterate prejudices and stubborn re luctances . Water land, Works, VIII. 383.