vacillation

[vas-uh-ley-shuh n]

See more synonyms for vacillation on Thesaurus.com

noun

Origin of vacillation

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

Related formsnon·vac·il·la·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for vacillation

hesitation, uncertainty, indecision, doubt, hesitancy, indecisiveness, inconstancy, vibration, wave, sway, swing, tentativeness

Examples from the Web for vacillation

Contemporary Examples of vacillation

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
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
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

Historical Examples of vacillation

Is the stamp of fear and vacillation to be on every act of our lives?
Tom Burke Of "Ours", Volume II (of II)
Charles James Lever
In spite of his vacillation, her uncle was deeply attached to her.
Nan of Music Mountain
Frank H. Spearman
But, in truth, Sir Harry's blackness was still the result of vacillation.
Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite
Anthony Trollope
I observe, too, a vacillation in your step—a joyous inquietude in your eyes.
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Vacillation of the inhabitants of the village between the two parties.
Demetrius
Friedrich Schiller

Word Origin and History for vacillation

c.1400, from Latin vacillationem (nominative vacillatio) "a reeling, wavering," noun of action from past participle stem of vacillare "sway to and fro." Originally in reference to opinion or conduct; literal sense is recorded from 1630s.