irresolute

American  

[ih-rez-uh-loot] / ɪˈrɛz əˌlut /

adjective

1. not resolute; doubtful; infirm of purpose; vacillating.

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irresolute British  

/ ɪˈrɛzəˌluːt /

adjective

1. lacking resolution; wavering; hesitating

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Other Word Forms

• irresoluteness
  noun
• irresolutely
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of irresolute

First recorded in 1565–75; ir- ² + resolute

Explanation

Irresolute describes someone who feels stuck. A decision must be made, a plan acted on, but the irresolute person just doesn't know what to do. Resolute describes certainty. When someone is resolute, things get done: plans are made and carried out. But add the prefix ir to resolute and you get its opposite. An irresolute person isn't necessarily a slacker — he or she just doesn't know what to do. Maybe it's confusion. Maybe it's a matter of waiting for better information to come along. Either way, if someone is irresolute, you'll need to be patient — or willing to nudge him or her into action.

Example Sentences

Irresolute as he was, the Prince was determined never to leave his wealth to a son of Louis Philippe.

From Time Magazine Archive

And while she stood Irresolute, the spell was fixed: as when The power of spring thaws winter to itself.

From Papers from Overlook-House by Almore, Casper

Irresolute he paused, little liking the sequestered gulch for a resting-place; divining the prickly thicket and almost impenetrable brushwood that lined the road.

From Under the Rose by Isham, Frederic Stewart

Irresolute, she let her eyes rest again for a fraction of a second on his eyes; when she drew a breath after that pause everything was over.

From Nan of Music Mountain by Wyeth, N. C. (Newell Convers)

Restless, Irresolute, or sad, I shun each eye, Yet fly from solitude to fly from self.

From Joan of Arc A Play in Five Acts by Sargant, Jane Alice