vacillate
verb (used without object)
to waver in mind or opinion; be indecisive or irresolute.
is vacillating
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present progressiveof vacillate (3rd person singular).present progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or state that is currently taking place in the immediate 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.
They pose the theory that the stock market is vacillating between thematic momentum and macro conditions.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026
Like a lot of self-isolating people, Madisen Li is vacillating between nervous, bored, grateful and irritable.
From New York Times ● Apr. 14, 2020
The play is generous with its double perspective: Agamemnon is vacillating and cornered; Menelaus is selfish yet not heartless; and everyone would choose the easy way out if it were a viable option.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2017
So the Soviet President is vacillating; he has virtually committed the U.S.S.R. to back some sort of Security Council resolution, but how strongly worded is most uncertain.
From Time Magazine Archive
I am not to blame that the Minister is vacillating, a coward, dense, dilatory, and has all bad qualities.
From War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Count
