本文经授权转载自微信公众号：田间小站
TEM8 GRE
外刊例句
- In a press conference on May 18th a reticent Huawei said that the new rule put its survival at risk.
在5月18日举行的一场新闻发布会上，言语谨慎的华为高管表示新规让公司面临生存危险。
——《经济学人》 - Melania Trump, America’s reticent and reserved first lady, has all but shunned the spotlight since her husband was elected.
自丈夫当选以来，沉默内向的美国第一夫人梅拉尼娅·特朗普一直在躲避聚光灯。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[adjective] not revealing one's thoughts or feelings readily
[形容词] 不轻易透露自己的想法或感受的
深入解读
Reticent 是一个与英语单词 reluctant （不情愿的、勉强的）比较容易混淆的单词，该词源自拉丁语 reticere （沉默、保持沉默）。值得注意的是，该拉丁语 reticere 源自前缀 re- + 拉丁语 tacere （沉默、不说话）而来，而拉丁语 tacere 恰是小站一年多前推送的 tacit 的词源。
最早有记录于1822年起， reticent 进入英语开始用来表示“沉默寡言的、不愿与人交谈的、说话有保留的”，尤指在特定情况下不暴露自己意图的性格或者拒绝说太多的习惯或情况，这通常并不意味着沉默，而是强调省得说话或不愿意讨论个人私事，比如：
- 他在正电子碰撞领域的成就真是无与伦比。但他对自己的成就缄口不言。
His work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled. But he is so reticent about his achievements. - 彼得耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。他对自己的个人生活讳莫如深。
Peter shrugged and said nothing. He was extremely reticent about his personal life.
名著用例
It was a matter upon which he was reticent, and with persons of his kind a direct question is never very discreet.
这是一个他讳莫如深的话题；对于像他这样的人直接问这类事也是很不谨慎的。
出自威廉·萨默塞特·毛姆（William Somerset Maugham）的长篇小说《月亮和六便士》（The Moon and Sixpence）。
同近义词
- reserved: slow to reveal emotion or opinions
- withdrawn: not wanting to communicate with other people
- introverted: of, denoting, or typical of an introvert
