Hesitance
Hesitance noun - A state or an instance of temporary inaction because of uncertainty about the right course of action.
Usage example: she mistook my hesitance to mean I didn't like her poem, but I was trying to come up with appropriate words of praise
Pause
Pause noun - A state or an instance of temporary inaction because of uncertainty about the right course of action.
Usage example: the question caught the professor off guard, and there was a pause before he responded
Mutual synonyms
Cite this Source
Pause and Hesitance. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/hesitance/pause
Hesitance & Pause. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/hesitance/pause>.
Pause or Hesitance. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/hesitance/pause.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "hesitance" and "pause" have occurred on timeline