oscillate

[ os-uh-leyt ]
See synonyms for: oscillateoscillating on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object),os·cil·lat·ed, os·cil·lat·ing.
  1. to swing or move to and fro, as a pendulum does.

  2. to vary or vacillate between differing beliefs, opinions, conditions, etc.: He oscillates regularly between elation and despair.

  1. Physics. to have, produce, or generate oscillations.

  2. Mathematics. (of a function, sequence, etc.) to tend to no limit, including infinity: The sequence 0, 1, 0, 1, … oscillates.

verb (used with object),os·cil·lat·ed, os·cil·lat·ing.
  1. to cause to move to and fro; vibrate.

Origin of oscillate

1
1720–30; <Latin oscillātus (past participle of oscillāre “to swing, ride on a swing”), equivalent to oscill(um) “a swing” + -ātus -ate1

synonym study For oscillate

1. See swing1.

Other words for oscillate

Other words from oscillate

  • in·ter·os·cil·late, verb, in·ter·os·cil·lat·ed, in·ter·os·cil·lat·ing.
  • un·os·cil·lat·ing, adjective

Words that may be confused with oscillate

Words Nearby oscillate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use oscillate in a sentence

  • Americans oscillate in their opinions of women involved in affairs, seeing them either as villains or victims.

    Broadway Cheers for Cheating | Janice Kaplan | April 25, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • In this position he stood for some moments, apparently watching the tail, which still continued to oscillate rapidly.

    The Desert Home | Mayne Reid
  • He operated on the tiny radio with his pocket-knife to establish a circuit which should oscillate when the battery was turned on.

    Operation Terror | William Fitzgerald Jenkins
  • In other words, it is necessary to be able to adjust the rate at which the currents will oscillate between the antenna and earth.

  • It does not oscillate (or pump), though extremely sensitive.

  • These, according to Mr. Darwin, oscillate till they touch an object, and then embrace it.

    On the Genesis of Species | St. George Mivart

British Dictionary definitions for oscillate

oscillate

/ (ˈɒsɪˌleɪt) /


verb
  1. (intr) to move or swing from side to side regularly

  2. (intr) to waver between opinions, courses of action, etc

  1. physics to undergo or produce or cause to undergo or produce oscillation

Origin of oscillate

1
C18: from Latin oscillāre to swing, from oscillum a swing

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012