What does loath mean?
Definitions for loath
loʊθ, loʊðloath
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word loath.
Princeton's WordNet
loath, loth, reluctantadjective
unwillingness to do something contrary to your custom
"a reluctant smile"; "loath to admit a mistake"
antipathetic, antipathetical, averse(p), indisposed(p), loath(p), loth(p)adjective
(usually followed by `to') strongly opposed
"antipathetic to new ideas"; "averse to taking risks"; "loath to go on such short notice"; "clearly indisposed to grant their request"
Wiktionary
loathadjective
unwilling, reluctant; averse, disinclined
I was loath to return to the office without the Henderson file.
loathadjective
hostile, angry, loathsome, unpleasant
Etymology: From loth, from loth, from laþ
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Loathadjective
Unwilling; disliking; not ready; not inclined.
Etymology: lað , Saxon.
These fresh and delightful brooks, how slowly they slide away, as loth to leave the company of so many things united in perfection. Philip Sidney.
With lofty eyes, half loth to look so low,
She thanked them in her disdainful wise,
Ne other grace vouchsafed them to show
Of princess worthy. Fairy Queen, b. i.When he heard her answers loth, he knew
Some secret sorrow did her heart distrain. Fairy Queen.To speak so indirectly, I am loth;
I’d say the truth; but to accuse him so,
That is your part. William Shakespeare, Meas. for Measure.Long doth she stay, as loth to leave the land,
From whose soft side she first did issue make,
She tastes all places, turns to ev’ry hand,
Her flow’ry banks unwilling to forsake. Davies.Then wilt thou not be loth
To leave this paradise, but shalt possess
A paradise within thee, happier far! John Milton, Par. Lost.To pardon willing, and to punish loth;
You strike with one hand, but you heal with both:
Lifting up all that prostrate lie, you grieve
You cannot make the dead again to live. Edmund Waller.When Æneas is forced to kill Lausus, the poet shews him compassionate, and is loth to destroy such a master-piece of nature. John Dryden, Dufresnoy.
As some faint pilgrim standing on the shore,
First views the torrent he would venture o’er;
And then his inn upon the farther ground,
Loth to wade through, and lother to go round:
Then dipping in his staff does trial make
How deep it is; and, sighing, pulls it back. Dryden.I know you shy to be oblig’d;
And still more loath to be oblig’d by me. Thomas Southerne.
ChatGPT
loath
Loath is an adjective that describes a strong unwillingness or reluctance to do something because it is disliked or disagreed upon. It conveys a feeling of intense dislike or aversion.
Webster Dictionary
Loathadjective
hateful; odious; disliked
Loathadjective
filled with disgust or aversion; averse; unwilling; reluctant; as, loath to part
Etymology: [OE. looth, loth, AS. l hostile, odious; akin to OS. l, G. leid, Icel. leir, Sw. led, G. leiden to suffer, OHG. ldan to suffer, go, cf. AS. lan to go, Goth. leipan, and E. lead to guide.]
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Loath
Loth, lōth, adj. disliking: reluctant, unwilling.—adv. Loath′ly.—n. Loath′ness. [A.S. láð, hateful—líðan, to travel; Ger. leiden, suffer.]
Suggested Resources
Loath
Loath vs. Loathe -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Loath and Loathe.
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
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Anagrams for loath »
altho
lotah
tolah
lhota
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of loath in Chaldean Numerology is: 2
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of loath in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2
Examples of loath in a Sentence
I don't think that is likely, they are loath to disrupt someone seen as an innovator. Those are the type of people who get the greatest benefit of the doubt.
Companies are loath to make any cuts, they're hanging on to everyone they can.
Mental health stakeholders are loath to have this conversation about improving mental health care in a context driven by violence prevention, because that's not why we need mental health reform per se, we need it because people are struggling with illnesses and they don't have access to care.
Ideologically, the EFF is closer to the ANC, though it will be loath to support the ANC which it has acrimoniously opposed in the National Assembly.
China is in a position to veto and stub out any effort by United States to pass a resolution against it in the The United Nations Security Council, as an economic powerhouse with the ability to punish smaller countries that rely on its trade and markets, most of the 190 countries that are part of General Assembly would be loath to join in a U.S.-sponsored resolution that would condemn China for its role in the pandemic.
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Translations for loath
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
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"loath." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 8 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/loath>.
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