vacillating

[vas-uh-ley-ting]

adjective

1. not resolute; wavering; indecisive; hesitating.

   an ineffectual, vacillating person.

   Synonyms: irresolute, hesitant

2. oscillating; swaying; fluctuating.

   a vacillating indicator.

vacillating

/ ˈvæsɪlənt, ˈvæsɪˌleɪtɪŋ /

adjective

1. inclined to waver; indecisive

Other Word Forms

• vacillatingly adverb
• nonvacillating adjective
• unvacillating adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of vacillating¹

First recorded in 1805–15; vacillat(e) + -ing ²

Synonym Study

See fickle.

Example Sentences

The American people appear to be vacillating between learned helplessness and mass disinhibition.

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He attributed the vacillating accounts to Phillip’s plight as a witness who “saw his mother murdered before his very eyes” but still loved the killer.

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Oppenheimer modulates the lighting during the scenes from cool to warm and back again, underlining the vacillating feelings they can’t acknowledge outright.

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We are a country, and a world, chasing its tail – vacillating between hatred, anger and a desire for peace.

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Throwing in with the CRM never stopped her from vacillating back and forth between her identities: Jadis and Anne, Alexandria and the authoritarian military.

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