vacillating
- not resolute; wavering; indecisive; hesitating: an ineffectual, vacillating person.
- oscillating; swaying; fluctuating: a vacillating indicator.
Origin of vacillating
Synonyms for vacillating
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comvacillate
- 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 vacillating
unsettled, wavering, hesitating, staggering, tottering, fluctuating, indecisive, irresolute, uncertain, unsure, vacillant, unsteady, changeable, hesitant, inconstant, tentative, undecided, volatileExamples from the Web for vacillating
Contemporary Examples of vacillating
Vacillating between silly and serious, the talk with Ansari is interrupted several times with giggling—most of it his own.
Parks and Recreation’s Aziz Ansari Is 30 Years Old and Writing a Book About Modern LoveAbby Haglage
November 12, 2013
Vacillating and unintelligent, his actions were all guided by his mistress, Mme Bonnemain.
Historical Examples of vacillating
Yet hitherto our star has been a vacillating and wavering star?
Little DorritCharles Dickens
He was vacillating, but he was not so vacillating as the Ministers.
O that she had your taste to guide her, and to decide my too vacillating judgment!
Tales And Novels, Volume 8 (of 10)Maria Edgeworth
He knows the tragic failure of other movements with vacillating policies.
Mountain MeditationsL. Lind-af-Hageby
The Jew's vacillating hope was tenacious, for it was the last.
Masterpieces of MysteryVarious
vacillating
rarely vacillant (ˈvæsɪlənt)
- inclined to waver; indecisive
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 vacillating
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.