hesitation
Americannoun
-
the act of hesitating; a delay due to uncertainty of mind or fear.
His hesitation cost him the championship.
-
a state of doubt or uncertainty.
- Synonyms:
- vacillation, irresolution, indecision, hesitancy
-
a halting or faltering in speech.
- Synonyms:
- stammer
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of hesitation
First recorded in 1615–25, hesitation is from the Latin word haesitātiōn- (stem of haesitātiō ). See hesitate, -ion
Explanation
A hesitation is a pause. If your friend asks you, "Do you like my new haircut?" you'd better make sure there's not a second's hesitation before you answer, "Yes, of course!" Hesitation happens when you feel uncertainty or doubt. It can be a pause in speech, a faltering moment before you act, or a silent second of indecision. If your friend's dog is growling and staring you down, but she tells you he won't bite, that feeling that something not feeling right that stops you from petting him is hesitation. The Latin root of hesitation is haesitationem, which means irresolution or uncertainty.
Vocabulary lists containing hesitation
Unit 1: Telling Details
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Catching Fire
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Slam!
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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:
In the meantime, her hesitation froze the field.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
Anderson says there was no hesitation when he was presented with the opportunity to join "one of the biggest clubs in the world".
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
My biggest hesitation is that they often require participants to close their credit-card accounts or limit their use.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
"I think there's a lot of hesitation in hiring right now," said Ian Amit, CEO of the cybersecurity startup Gomboc AI.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
Without a moment’s hesitation, before Mama changed her mind and remembered about the help she needed with the stinky hide, Omakayas ran off.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
Let’s start with the big “why” for your efforts, because that may solve all of your hesitations in one fell swoop.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 14, 2026
Douglass admired Lincoln’s towering sense of humanity even as he critiqued the president’s hesitations and half-steps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025
When you do have moments where you go I think this might be going too far or This is too mean-spirited, how do those hesitations manifest for you?
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2025
It found that most respondents were "broadly optimistic" about the use of AI in education, but almost all had some hesitations.
From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2023
So with him, she spoke in moods and gestures, looks and silences, and sometimes a combination of English punctuated by hesitations and Chinese frustration: “Shwo buchulai”— Words cannot come out.
From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan
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.
