1 (provisional) [+agreement, plan, arrangement] provisional; provisorio; (LAm) Political leaders have reached a tentative [agreement] to hold a preparatory conference next month Last week a tentative deal was struck with the truckers' union after about two weeks of negotiating ...a tentative pact that would allow American car makers to boost exports to Mexico Leaders of the seven republics had given tentative approval to the treaty North and South Korea had tentative [plans] to send a joint team to the Asian Games ...a protest over Israel's tentative [plan] to attend the Middle East peace conference we made tentative arrangements to meet next week A tentative [date] for a ceasefire was set for September
[+conclusion] provisional; no definitiva This [conclusion] is rather tentative, as most of the empirical work has been done only for the USA a few tentative [conclusions] may be drawn ...tentative [moves] toward democracy to make tentative [enquiries] about sth Marcia had made tentative [enquiries] about an independent flat
2 (hesitant) [+gesture] vacilante; tímido Peter took one tentative [step] towards his mother, and then another He offered his hand in a tentative gesture of comfort but she brushed it aside My first [attempts] at complaining were rather tentative
[+smile, attempt] tímido She did not return his tentative [smile] There was something about the tentative smile that made him seem humble
the first tentative steps toward democracy los primeros pasos vacilantes hacia la democracia; he made a tentative suggestion that ... sugirió tímidamente que ...
