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vacillate

[vas-uh-leyt]
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verb (used without object), vac·il·lat·ed, vac·il·lat·ing.
  1. to waver in mind or opinion; be indecisive or irresolute: His tendency to vacillate makes him a poor leader.
  2. to sway unsteadily; waver; totter; stagger.
  3. to oscillate or fluctuate.
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Origin of vacillate

1590–1600; < Latin vacillātus (past participle of vacillāre to sway to and fro); see -ate1
Related formsvac·il·la·tor, noun

Synonyms

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1. hesitate. See waver1. 2. reel.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for vacillate

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • He may pause, but he must not hesitate,—and tremble, but must not vacillate.

  • Long did he vacillate whether Tom Keane should not be arrested on suspicion.

    Roland Cashel

    Charles James Lever

  • They vacillate, conforming now to the interest of the wage-workers, now to the interest of the employers.

    Socialism

    John Spargo

  • Why do you vacillate, and keep us all in the dark as to what you mean?

  • As if it were possible to wait now, to weigh, vacillate, hesitate!

    The Death of the Gods

    Dmitri Mrejkowski

British Dictionary definitions for vacillate

vacillate

verb (intr)
  1. to fluctuate in one's opinions; be indecisive
  2. to sway from side to side physically; totter or waver
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Derived Formsvacillation, nounvacillator, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Latin vacillāre to sway, of obscure origin
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

Word Origin and History for vacillate

v.

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper