vacillation
Americannoun
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an act or instance of vacillating.
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a state of indecision or irresolution.
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unsteady movement; fluctuation.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of vacillation
1350–1400; Middle English vacillacion < Latin vacillātiōn- (stem of vacillātiō ) a swaying. See vacillate, -ion
Explanation
Vacillation is when you constantly change your opinion. It also refers to swinging back and forth physically. Both meanings of vacillation involve moving back and forth in some way. The first sense is what happens when a person is wishy-washy. If you want to go to a movie, then say you don’t, then say you do after all, that’s an example of vacillation. Politicians who flip-flop are known for their vacillation because they constantly change their opinions. Also, something that is swinging or swaying in the wind is vacillating, so the movement is a vacillation.
Vocabulary lists containing vacillation
"The Palace Thief" by Ethan Canin
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Spoon River Anthology
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David Copperfield
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
So the decision to do nothing about the deflation was not a case of ignorance or vacillation, as Mr. Ahamed contends, but of alignment with long-established monetary norms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
When Lois is in the coma, there is a lot of vacillation between what she’s dealing with in terms of what's going on with the case and the trauma.
From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2024
It just captures this vacillation of the human experience so perfectly for me — like, I’m dancing, I’m driving in the dark.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2024
Once I decided to quit, I acted, with no endless vacillation.
From New York Times ● Feb. 27, 2023
Her style is free from that vacillation, that timid adoption of a definite line, which always indicates a weak thinker and a total absence of system in the mind.
From The Catholic World; Volume I, Issues 1-6 A Monthly Eclectic Magazine by Rameur, E.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
