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.
Don’t hesitate to be cared for by physician associates like nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 3, 2026
And, on any given night, he didn’t hesitate to expand an improvisation to startling lengths, finding new ideas well beyond the imaginative limits of most jazz players.
From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026
Woodson embraced the “conservative” label, but he was neither partisan nor especially ideological and didn’t hesitate to criticize Republican approaches to helping the black poor.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
While he said that he wasn’t advocating for a hike, yet, he wouldn’t hesitate to if “expectations became unanchored.”
From Barron's • May 23, 2026
I hesitate, since the eel is looking at me, but I think of my momma, and I want to be at least as good as her at this.
From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
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.
