Argh! Pet peeve: “reticent”
June 13th, 2010 at 12:26 pm ETDear everyone — once and for all, “reticent” does not mean “reluctant” or “unwilling,” it means “reserved” or “withdrawn.” I realize I’ve lost this one — people have been confusing “reticent” with “reluctant” for more than a generation, and the incorrect definition of “reticent” is now starting to make its way into dictionaries as a secondary meaning. Which means that, by popular acclamation, it is incrementally less incorrect than it used to be. But it still drives me crazy!
Especially when I see the word used incorrectly, in quotation marks in the New York Times, by someone (clearly a perfectly nice and thoughtful and intelligent person) who is described as working in publishing!
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Rich Mintz blogs on online fundraising and social media, American history and culture, bicycling and urbanism, food, technology, and other topics. Professionally, he's an expert in fundraising, constituency development, and social media for nonprofits, cultural organizations, cause-related marketers, and corporations. He is based in New York, where he serves as Vice President, Strategy, for 
