hesitate
Americanverb (used without object)
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to be reluctant or wait to act because of fear, indecision, or disinclination.
She hesitated to take the job.
- Antonyms:
- decide
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to have scruples or doubts; be unwilling.
He hesitated to break the law.
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to pause.
I hesitated before reciting the next line.
- Antonyms:
- hasten
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to falter in speech; stammer.
Embarrassment caused the speaker to hesitate.
verb
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to hold back or be slow in acting; be uncertain
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to be unwilling or reluctant (to do something)
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to stammer or pause in speaking
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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hesitativeadjective
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hesitaternoun
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hesitationnoun
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prehesitateverb (used without object)
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hesitatornoun
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hesitatinglyadverb
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has hesitatedperfect 3rd person singular
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have hesitatedperfect
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have been hesitatingperfect progressive
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is hesitatingprogressive 3rd person singular
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hesitatessingular 3rd person
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hesitatingparticiple
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are hesitatingprogressive
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am hesitatingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been hesitatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had hesitatedperfect
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were hesitatingprogressive plural
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hesitatedsimple
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was hesitatingprogressive singular
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had been hesitatingperfect progressive
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hesitatedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of hesitate
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin haesitātus “faltered,” past participle of haesitāre “to falter”; see hesitant
Explanation
To hesitate is to pause before doing something, often out of concern or worry. If you're playing basketball and have a wide-open shot but don't take it right away, you hesitated. Maybe you felt too much pressure to shoot the ball. When people are nervous or worried, they tend to hesitate. Hesitating while speaking is common. In class, if you're not sure you have the right answer, you'll hesitate. When giving bad news, people often hesitate. Sometimes it makes sense to hesitate and sometimes you just need to do what you have to do.
Vocabulary lists containing hesitate
List 3
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"Fears and Phobias," Vocabulary from the article
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Frindle
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She made her debut in “Do Not Hesitate, Young Folks!”
From New York Times • Nov. 27, 2015
"Hesitate to disturb a major, and all that," Dalrymple said as he entered.
From The Guarded Heights by Camp, Wadsworth
Hesitate no more, my dear son; come into my arms!
From Eastern Tales by Many Story Tellers by Valentine, L. (Laura)
Hesitate any longer and all will be lost; but if you throw down your arms, and, leaving your captives behind, retire by the way you came, you are free to do so.
From The Young Carthaginian A Story of The Times of Hannibal by Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)
Hesitate not to invite undeveloped spirits to your seances if your purpose be to benefit them.
From A Book Written by the Spirits of the So-Called Dead by Helleberg, C. G. (Carl Gustaf)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
