indecisive
Americanadjective
-
characterized by indecision, as persons; irresolute; undecided.
- Synonyms:
- hesitant, vacillating
-
not decisive or conclusive.
a severe but indecisive battle.
-
lacking definition; vague or indistinct.
the indecisive outline of the distant hills.
adjective
-
(of a person) vacillating; irresolute
-
not decisive or conclusive
Other Word Forms
- indecision noun
- indecisively adverb
- indecisiveness noun
Etymology
Origin of indecisive
Explanation
If you’re indecisive, you have a hard time making decisions. When you finally do make a decision, you may not be confident about it, or you might change your mind. Another definition for indecisive is not definitely settling something, like when election results are too close to call or some result has been called into question. Several historic American elections have had this happen in the recent past, and in that case, the election result remains indecisive until a recount has been finished or until one party gives a concession speech.
Vocabulary lists containing indecisive
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The Words of Nick Carraway
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Inherit the Wind
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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.
"From a US perspective, I would say the US was operationally brilliant but the conflict was strategically indecisive," said Singh, now managing director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026
Germany proved indecisive, and Poland, while mobilizing, didn’t send troops across the border into Lithuania.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s disaster chief quietly retired in late December amid criticism over the state’s indecisive stance on whether soil testing was necessary to protect survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2026
But in reality, he is weak and indecisive.
From Salon • Jun. 20, 2025
At the end there was an indecisive, semiserious silence and then Brinker said, “Phineas, if you please.”
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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.
