vacillation

[ vas-uh-ley-shuhn ]

/ ˌvæs əˈleɪ ʃən /

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noun

an act or instance of vacillating.

a state of indecision or irresolution.

unsteady movement; fluctuation.

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Origin of vacillation

1350–1400; Middle English vacillacion<Latin vacillātiōn- (stem of vacillātiō) a swaying. See vacillate, -ion

non·vac·il·la·tion, noun

Cameras and laser-based detectors mounted on the ceiling capture and quantify those pauses and vacillations.
Has the fountain of youth been in our blood all along?|Kat McGowan|September 28, 2021|Popular-Science
After some vacillation, I decided to include the translation at the very end of the entry, especially because, as a runner-up, it appeared near the top of the list of more than 30 entries.
Style Conversational Week 1419: A smile for the Capitol?|Pat Myers|January 14, 2021|Washington Post
On the other hand, the vacillation in policy and the policy uncertainty is unsettling, just like it would be for employees in a company.
Does the President Matter as Much as You Think? (Ep. 404)|Stephen J. Dubner|February 6, 2020|Freakonomics
He also could blame the downturn on the vacillation of authorities—and politics.
Will Bangkok's Floods Swamp the Government?|Lennox Samuels|October 22, 2011|DAILY BEAST

At the Pentagon, which bears the brunt of much of this hesitation and vacillation, the mood is one of not-so-quiet desperation.
Obama's Middle East Head Spin|Christopher Dickey, John Barry|April 22, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Paul Krugman of The New York Times is convinced that the president's weakness and vacillation are to blame.
Be More Like Teddy|Reihan Salam|August 26, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Before parliament was prorogued the weakness and vacillation of the ministry had been very apparent.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III.|E. Farr and E. H. Nolan
He was generally a man of prompt decision, and he well knew that he would incur by this act the charge of vacillation.
Eric, or Little by Little|Frederic W. Farrar
All this vacillation harmonised with the foreign and domestic policy of Sir Robert Peel, under whose instructions he acted.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III.|E. Farr and E. H. Nolan
At Erfurt the same vacillation overmastered Napoleon (p. 181) as that with which he had been tormented since Tilsit.
The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte|William Milligan Sloane
Again, the vacillation of the ministry defeated the expedition against Canada.
A short history of Rhode Island|George Washington Greene