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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hesitaternoun
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hesitationnoun
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hesitatornoun
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prehesitateverb (used without object)
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hesitativeadjective
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hesitatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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hesitatesimple
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hesitatessimple
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have hesitatedperfect
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has hesitatedperfect
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am hesitatingprogressive
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are hesitatingprogressive
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is hesitatingprogressive
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have been hesitatingperfect progressive
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has been hesitatingperfect progressive
Past
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hesitatedsimple
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had hesitatedperfect
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was hesitatingprogressive
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were hesitatingprogressive
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had been hesitatingperfect progressive
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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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.
See Examples For:
One reason for the ECB to hesitate in implementing another rate hike this week may be that the central bank for the 21-nation single currency area faced some criticism for its June increase.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
"You all know how folks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes with growing older," the statement read.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
“When John Oliver publicly threw down the gauntlet and said he wanted to appear on a soap, we didn’t hesitate for a second,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
Briggs, when asked whether the cost was worth it, didn’t hesitate.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026
Major Puff would not hesitate to claim ownership if he really wanted the almost perfect burrow.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
He hesitates to call what he was doing playing at the professional level.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
Most people recognize the familiar situation at a restaurant or dinner party when one plate arrives early and the person served hesitates to start eating.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 12, 2026
That is the case for Lucia May, aged four, who hesitates as she looks at skulls peeking from wooden boxes, some still with some hair.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2025
She hesitates for about 30 seconds, walking backwards and forwards.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2025
She hesitates for a long moment, then adds, “The rain’s stopped. Why don’t you go out for a walk while you can?”
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
Catalina Sanchez, a 64-year-old secretary who celebrated with her daughters until 4:00 am, hesitated to remove her sunglasses as she headed to work.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
But team-mate Olav Kooij did not follow and as the riders hesitated, Waerenskjold sneaked through a gap beside the barriers to launch a counter-attack with 400m remaining.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Had she hesitated, she notes, she might have talked herself out of sharing it.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026
While 27 states have agreed to use SAVE, others have hesitated, concerned not only about inaccuracies, but also about privacy and the data’s potential to be used in immigration enforcement.
From Salon ● Feb. 27, 2026
After they’d secured the prince, May reached down to help up the wolf, but the animal, still in human form, hesitated, a growl rumbling in the back of his throat.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
They held them up to the light, pressed them between their fingers, hesitating — until, one by one, they took a bite.
From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2026
The Chargers aren’t hesitating when it comes to bolstering their run-blocking options for new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, reportedly agreeing to terms Monday with former Baltimore Ravens tight end Charlie Kolar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2026
That removed a near-term overhang on the stock, but private lenders are hesitating to back its plans, according to Schwartz.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 25, 2026
Developing the ability to deploy platoons of robots that can carry out orders without hesitating also speaks to skepticism in Beijing about the reliability of PLA mission commanders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2026
Maybe they were hesitating because of the spear.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
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.
