vacillate
- to waver in mind or opinion; be indecisive or irresolute: His tendency to vacillate makes him a poor leader.
- to sway unsteadily; waver; totter; stagger.
- to oscillate or fluctuate.
Origin of vacillate
Synonyms for vacillate
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for vacillate
waffle, seesaw, waver, fluctuate, dither, oscillate, hesitate, hover, reel, rock, alternate, straddle, stagger, pause, swing, hedge, sway, change, shilly-shally, whiffleExamples from the Web for vacillate
Contemporary Examples of vacillate
I kind of self-edit that out of the history, but they did vacillate for quite a while.
David Chase on Tony Soprano’s Fate, the State of TV, and Why He Couldn’t Finish ‘True Detective’Marlow Stern
September 4, 2014
It seems like you vacillate between 10 and 20 members at any given time.
Van der Sloot appears to vacillate between apologetic and aloof in his response, captured on hidden camera.
Historical Examples of vacillate
He may pause, but he must not hesitate,—and tremble, but must not vacillate.
Modern Painters Volume II (of V)John Ruskin
Long did he vacillate whether Tom Keane should not be arrested on suspicion.
Roland CashelCharles James Lever
They vacillate, conforming now to the interest of the wage-workers, now to the interest of the employers.
SocialismJohn Spargo
Why do you vacillate, and keep us all in the dark as to what you mean?
Sandra Belloni, CompleteGeorge Meredith
As if it were possible to wait now, to weigh, vacillate, hesitate!
The Death of the GodsDmitri Mrejkowski
vacillate
- to fluctuate in one's opinions; be indecisive
- to sway from side to side physically; totter or waver
Word Origin for vacillate
Word Origin and History for vacillate
1590s, "to sway unsteadily," from Latin vacillatum, from vacillare (see vacillation). Meaning "to waver between two opinions or courses" is recorded from 1620s. Related: Vacillated; vacillates; vacillating.