Merriam-Webster defines the word Taciturn as an adjective, temperamentally disinclined to talk. While reading the article “Allowing Teenage Boys to Love Their Friends” by Jan Hoffman I noticed she included a short story about a teenager who was afraid to tell his friend that they were drifting apart. The adjective came up in the authors interpretation of the event occurring in that boys life. Thats why she included the lines “indeed, the shutting down of those relationships is part of what turns boys into taciturn, emotionally disconnected men”. After reading this I got more context of what the word really meant. It means that the boy did not want to talk about his feelings because he felt he would be judged the way society judge other boys for expressing how they feel to anyone. He was holding back his feelings just because he did not want to be viewed as “weak” or “gay” as society would say.