loath to

phraseC1formal · an editor’s judgementNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

Loath to means very unwilling to do a particular thing. You will probably do it, and every part of you objects.

It is followed by a verb and it is the only construction the adjective loath appears in. The word is formal and slightly literary. The real difficulty is the neighbouring loathe, spelled with an e, which is a verb meaning to hate intensely, and confusing the two is one of the commonest errors in written English. Reluctant to does the same job with no spelling trap attached.

Definitions of loath to

1phraseloath toVery unwilling to do something.C1
“I am loath to raise it again so soon.”

Practised in A Man Called Ove, A Song of Ice and Fire

First appears in chapter 32 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

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loath to

phraseC1formal · an editor’s judgementNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

Loath to means very unwilling to do a particular thing. You will probably do it, and every part of you objects.

Definitions of loath to

1phraseloath toVery unwilling to do something.C1
“I am loath to raise it again so soon.”

Practised in A Man Called Ove, A Song of Ice and Fire

First appears in chapter 32 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word