oscillate
Americanverb (used without object)
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to swing or move to and fro, as a pendulum does.
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to vary or vacillate between differing beliefs, opinions, conditions, etc..
He oscillates regularly between elation and despair.
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Physics. to have, produce, or generate oscillations.
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Mathematics. (of a function, sequence, etc.) to tend to no limit, including infinity.
The sequence 0, 1, 0, 1, … oscillates.
verb (used with object)
verb
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(intr) to move or swing from side to side regularly
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(intr) to waver between opinions, courses of action, etc
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physics to undergo or produce or cause to undergo or produce oscillation
Related Words
See swing 1.
Other Word Forms
- interoscillate verb
- unoscillating adjective
Etymology
Origin of oscillate
1720–30; < Latin oscillātus (past participle of oscillāre “to swing, ride on a swing”), equivalent to oscill(um) “a swing” + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
On a hot day, you’ll be happy to have a fan that can oscillate, meaning it moves back and forth in a steady motion. The verb oscillate can be traced back to the Latin word oscillum, meaning "swing," so it makes sense that oscillate is used to describe an object like a fan or a pendulum that swings from side to side. The word also can be used to describe a different kind of motion — the wavering of someone who is going back and forth between conflicting beliefs or actions. If you’ve ever had trouble making up your mind about something, you probably know what it feels like to oscillate — back and forth from one decision and to another and then back again. And again. And again.
Vocabulary lists containing oscillate
Unit 1: Telling Details
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"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce
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100 SAT words Beginning with "O"
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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.
If neutrinos and antineutrinos oscillate differently, that difference could point to why matter ultimately prevailed.
From Science Daily • Mar. 3, 2026
“It’s been kind of a sideways-driven market that is continuing to oscillate between good economic data and bad jobs data.”
From MarketWatch • Feb. 5, 2026
You talked about how women have to oscillate between trying to be likable and lovable.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 10, 2025
Conditions oscillate between La Nina and its opposite, El Nino, with neutral phases in between.
From Barron's • Oct. 9, 2025
It would oscillate through the earth and back, until eventually it settled down at the center.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
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.
