vacillate
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
-
to fluctuate in one's opinions; be indecisive
-
to sway from side to side physically; totter or waver
Synonym Usage
See waver 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
vacillatesimple
-
vacillatessimple
-
have vacillatedperfect
-
has vacillatedperfect
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am vacillatingprogressive
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are vacillatingprogressive
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is vacillatingprogressive
-
have been vacillatingperfect progressive
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has been vacillatingperfect progressive
Past
-
vacillatedsimple
-
had vacillatedperfect
-
was vacillatingprogressive
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were vacillatingprogressive
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had been vacillatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of vacillate
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin vacillātus (past participle of vacillāre “to sway to and fro”); see -ate 1
Explanation
Vacillate means to waver back and forth, unable to decide. You might vacillate between ordering waffles and pancakes at your favorite diner — it’s hard to pick just one when both are so tasty! Something that vacillates sways or fluctuates, often quite unsteadily. So use this verb to describe the staggering motions of a person who has had too much to drink, as well as the opinions of someone who can’t make up her mind. Synonyms include vibrate, hesitate, and waver. A wise Ethiopian proverb advises, "Do not vacillate or you will be left in between doing something, having something, and being nothing.”
Vocabulary lists containing vacillate
Grade 12, List 5
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "V"
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Long Walk to Freedom
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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.
His commanding presence and ability to vacillate between one-liners and earnest remarks also reminded me a lot of the way Rivers conducted himself.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2024
The Oscars can often vacillate between insidery navel-gazing and a ho-hum march toward best picture, but occasionally an acceptance speech cuts through the noise with authenticity.
From New York Times • Mar. 13, 2023
His leadership skills were lackluster, he was not a charismatic or inspiring speaker, he tended to vacillate in decision-making and he struggled to retain the best staffers.
From Salon • Jul. 24, 2022
We are a nation traumatized into forgetting, psyches so pulverized by mass death that we vacillate wildly between rage and numbness—waiting until the cycle begins again, so frequent it masquerades as normalcy.
From Slate • May 25, 2022
The Obayifo’s shifty eyes vacillate between me and Ama.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
