reticent.

Inclined to say little or to avoid revealing thoughts or personal information.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• reticent about the past
• a reticent witness

On the page

She remained reticent about the years she had spent abroad.

His reticent answers gave the interviewer little to work with.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Comparative more reticent; superlative most reticent. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.