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/ˈɹɛtɪs(ə)ns/ · noun
(uncountable, also figuratively) Avoidance of saying or reluctance to say too much; discretion, tight-lippedness; (countable) an instance of acting in this manner..
[Y]ou paſſe ouer their teſtimonies, & his whole diſcourſe out of them, with a fraudulent reticence of the particulars, and thinke to be euen with them, making vp by ſcoffing, what you cannot by arguing, [...]
It must not be numbered among the obliviscences and reticenses of the candid reader, that this man, who had been [...] declared by the head of the Church of Christ, in a public instrument for the instruction and direction of all the faithful, that he was a man of very unsound doctrine, and guilty of many outrages against the holy see, should have been selected and appointed the sole plenipotentiary, delegate, and commissioner, on the part of the Church of Rome, to effect the desirable object of her reunion with the Church of England.
The painter's absurd fits of jealousy, his wild devotion, his extravagant panegyrics, his curious reticences—he understood them all now, and he felt sorry.
The greatest egotist has his reticenses. It is only during the sessions of sweet silent thought that a man can summon his soul to judgment.
He would not give me any further clue. You must not be angry with him, Art, because his very reticence means that all his brains are working for her good. He will speak plainly enough when the time comes, be sure.
We find the same evasions and reticences and the same trick of producing opinion by reiterated assertion that is successful precisely to the extent to which it avoids rational argument and the danger of awakening the critical faculties of the people.
That is why I regret that my arguments have not convinced many scholars, as shown by the reticenses of some here present.
Use reticence when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.
Reticence means (uncountable, also figuratively) Avoidance of saying or reluctance to say too much; discretion, tight-lippedness; (countable) an instance of acting in this manner..
Common synonyms include reserve, taciturnity, introversion, reservation.
Possible antonyms include ostentation, chattiness, diarrhea of the mouth, garrulity.
[Y]ou paſſe ouer their teſtimonies, & his whole diſcourſe out of them, with a fraudulent reticence of the particulars, and thinke to be euen with them, making vp by ſcoffing, what you cannot by arguing, [...]
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But in my own experience, autobiographies have had little lure; repeatedly they assume too much or too little: too much in dreaming that one's own life has greatly influenced the world; too little in the reticences, repressions and distortions which come because men do not dare to be absolutely frank.