vacillate
verb (used without object)
to waver in mind or opinion; be indecisive or irresolute.
have vacillated
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present perfectof vacillate.present perfect
Used to describe actions that started in the past and continue into or have direct relevance to the present.
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.
Ellison and his executives have vacillated from anger to acceptance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Both sides have vacillated between tough talk and de-escalation in recent days, but the rhetoric took a harder turn on Tuesday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025
Relations between Pakistan and the United States have vacillated between strong and tenuous for more than a generation.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 23, 2022
I have vacillated over visiting a fee-only planner.
From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2021
Bracton seems to have vacillated a little from a feeling of the possibility of conflict between the two.
From The Common Law by Oliver Wendell Holmes
