SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
loath
adjective
Unwilling or reluctant.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Reluctant
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topLoath is an adjective, usually followed by to. Loathe is the verb meaning detest.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See loath in use
She was loath to discard a notebook full of unfinished ideas.
After the dinner, Jae felt discontented with the room's poor reading light and reconsidered the lamp for a concrete reason. She faced a quandary because the attractive model took more table space, while a smaller one gave less light in the shop's demonstration. She was loath to spend her remaining allowance before deciding which compromise mattered more.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license