Tentative — A Vocabulary Story
The Climb at Quiraing
Hui pressed her palm against the cold basalt and took a tentative step onto the ridge. Below her, the Quiraing unfolded like a crumpled green map, mist curling between the pinnacles. Somewhere down there, her younger brother Sergey was waiting at the car park, swinging his binoculars and chewing liquorice.
Tentative means not certain or fixed. It also means unsure.
She had promised their mother she would not climb alone. Yet here she was, drawn upward by the strange flute-like wind that had been calling since dawn.
A tentative bleat answered her footsteps. A lamb, no bigger than a school bag, was wedged between two boulders, one leg bent at an awkward angle. Hui knelt and offered her glove. The lamb gave it a tentative sniff, then bumped its nose into her palm.
She radioed Sergey. His reply crackled back, tentative and breathless, promising to fetch the ranger. While she waited, Hui hummed a half-remembered lullaby and worked her fingers under the warm wool, loosening stones one by one.
The ranger, a woman called Ruth with windburnt cheeks, arrived within the hour. Together they made a tentative sling from Hui's jacket. The lamb wriggled, then settled.
Descending was harder than climbing. Each footstep was tentative on the wet basalt, the sky pressing low. Sergey met them halfway up, liquorice forgotten, arms outstretched for the bundle of trembling wool.
Word Definition
tentative
meaning
not certain or fixed; unsure
synonyms
conditional · experimental · dependent · indefinite · unsettled
antonyms
definite · certain · conclusive
example sentence
The schedule is still tentative and may change.