Origin: Latin suffix -ive
Tentative has 4 different meanings across 1 category:
A trial; an experiment; an attempt.
"The scientist ran a tentative test to see if her hypothesis held true."
"The tentative was left in place until someone decided to take over."
Usage: The noun form of tentative, meaning "an attempt," is archaic and rarely used in modern English; prefer the adjective when describing something uncertain or provisional. SKIP
under terms not final or fully worked out or agreed upon
"probationary employees"
"a provisional government"
"just a tentative schedule"
Of or pertaining to a trial or trials; essaying; experimental.
"The chemist ran several tentative experiments on the new compound before finalizing the formula."
In plain English: Tentative means something is not fully decided yet and might change later.
"She gave me only tentative answers because she wasn't sure about the plan yet."
The word tentative comes from the Medieval Latin tentativus, which meant "trying" or "testing." It entered English through its connection to the verb try and related words like test.