adj · academic
tentative
/ˈtɛn.tə.tɪv/TEN·ta·tive
Band 6-7task2speaking
not certain or fixed; provisional; done as an experiment or trial
Examples
“We have a tentative schedule for the conference, but it's not final.”
“Researchers offered a tentative explanation for the unexpected results.”
“She gave a tentative smile when she heard the news.”
Band 8 sentence
“The authors reached only tentative conclusions pending further longitudinal data.”
Collocations
- tentative plan
- tentative conclusion
- tentative agreement
Word family
tentative adjtentatively advtentativeness n
Common mistakes
We have a tentative final plan.→We have a tentative plan.
He nodded tentativelyly.→He nodded tentatively.
Say it for a higher band
5maybe→6provisional→7+tentative
Synonyms
provisional
hesitant
Easily confused
temporary
“The temporary bridge will be replaced next year.”
Related words
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In -ive
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