From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbe loath to do somethingbe loath to do somethingformalWILLING# to be unwilling to do something SYN reluctant OPP willing Sarah was loath to tell her mother what had happened. → loath
Examples from the Corpus
be loath to do something• He seemed loath to raise the subject.• On the other hand, if I were just too fascinating the gallant gentlemen might be loath to drown me.• She is loath to encourage folks to sit tight.• By the time Frodo reaches Mount Doom he is loath to get rid of the Ring.• White House officials said that President Bush was loath to impose burdens on industry as the country began to emerge from recession.• Congressmen are loath to limit the amount of time they can be in office.• Yet he is loath to part with skilled people who could prove difficult to replace come the upturn.• None the less, doctors were loath to reveal their predictions to patients, unless, of course, complete recovery was expected.• People at that time were loath to take any action.• His mother was still asleep and he was loath to wake her. 