vacillate

[vas-uh-leyt]

verb (used without object)

vacillated, vacillating 

1. to waver in mind or opinion; be indecisive or irresolute.

   His tendency to vacillate makes him a poor leader.

   Synonyms: hesitate

2. to sway unsteadily; waver; totter; stagger.

   Synonyms: reel

3. to oscillate or fluctuate.

vacillate

/ ˈvæsɪˌleɪt /

verb

1. to fluctuate in one's opinions; be indecisive

2. to sway from side to side physically; totter or waver

Other Word Forms

• vacillator noun
• vacillation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of vacillate¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin vacillātus (past participle of vacillāre “to sway to and fro”); -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of vacillate¹

C16: from Latin vacillāre to sway, of obscure origin

Synonym Study

See waver ¹.

Example Sentences

Washington has vacillated between pressing Europe to hit China with tariffs to cutting its own deals with Beijing.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

His yellow eyes vacillate between me and Autumn.

Read more on Literature

Both sides have vacillated between tough talk and de-escalation in recent days, but the rhetoric took a harder turn on Tuesday.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“He was begging to be able to do something on the offensive side,” Skipper said of the redshirt junior, who has vacillated between the offensive and defensive lines during his seven seasons with the team.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

When the conspiracy at the center of “The Chair Company” consumes the life of Ron Trosper, he vacillates between screaming fury and the type of validation that lights up his smile from the inside.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• dither 
• fluctuate 
• oscillate 
• seesaw 
• waffle 
• waver