fluctuate
verb (used without object)
to change continually; shift back and forth; vary irregularly.
had fluctuated
-
past perfectof fluctuate.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
The cyclone, whose name means “disaster” in Bengali, had fluctuated between the equivalent of a Category 1 and Category 2 hurricane, with winds ranging from 90 to 100 miles per hour early on Wednesday.
From New York Times ● Jun. 14, 2023
Annual meat supply had fluctuated in a range of 3,000-5,000 tons, including imports from Norway and Iceland.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 27, 2023
Before the law passed, the salaries for the Uihleins had fluctuated.
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2021
Investigators later found that Lion Air Flight 610’s altitude had fluctuated repeatedly in its final minutes, perhaps as pilots fought to overcome the anti-stall software without realizing how to fully disengage it.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 15, 2019
Wilson, impatient in everything, had fluctuated between grandeur and galimatias, bathos and bad taste; De Quincey, at times supreme, had at others simply succumbed to "rigmarole."
From A History of Nineteenth Century Literature (1780-1895) by George Saintsbury
