SpellingIQ

How to spell reticent

reticent

Not reticant.

The trap

-ant or -ent

The word reticent ends -ent, and the misspelling reticant writes the ending as -ant. The unstressed ending sounds the same either way, and reticence keeps the same E.

-ant and -ent are the same sound when the syllable is unstressed. Which one a word takes is usually learned with the word, and its -ance or -ence relative keeps the same vowel (confident, confidence).

What it means

Not revealing one's thoughts readily.

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SpellingIQ is a skill rating for spelling ability, not a clinical or psychometric IQ measure. American English is canonical; common variants are accepted.