vacillate


Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms.

vac·il·late

 (văs′ə-lāt′)
intr.v. vac·il·lat·ed, vac·il·lat·ing, vac·il·lates
1. To be unable to choose between different courses of action or opinions; waver: She vacillated about whether to leave.
2. To change between one state and another; fluctuate: The weather vacillated between sunny and rainy.
3. Archaic To sway from one side to the other.

[Latin vacillāre, vacillāt-, to waver.]

vac′il·lat′ing·ly adv.
vac′il·la′tion n.
vac′il·la′tor n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

vacillate

(ˈvæsɪˌleɪt)
vb (intr)
1. to fluctuate in one's opinions; be indecisive
2. to sway from side to side physically; totter or waver
[C16: from Latin vacillāre to sway, of obscure origin]
ˌvacilˈlation n
ˈvacilˌlator n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

vac•il•late

(ˈvæs əˌleɪt)

v.i. -lat•ed, -lat•ing.
1. to waver in mind or opinion; be indecisive or irresolute.
2. to sway unsteadily; totter.
3. to oscillate or fluctuate.
[1590–1600; < Latin vacillātus, past participle of vacillāre to be unsteady, waver]
vac`il•la′tion, n.
vac′il•la`tor, n.
vac′il•la•to`ry (-ləˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i) adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

vacillate


Past participle: vacillated
Gerund: vacillating

Imperative
vacillate
vacillate
Present
I vacillate
you vacillate
he/she/it vacillates
we vacillate
you vacillate
they vacillate
Preterite
I vacillated
you vacillated
he/she/it vacillated
we vacillated
you vacillated
they vacillated
Present Continuous
I am vacillating
you are vacillating
he/she/it is vacillating
we are vacillating
you are vacillating
they are vacillating
Present Perfect
I have vacillated
you have vacillated
he/she/it has vacillated
we have vacillated
you have vacillated
they have vacillated
Past Continuous
I was vacillating
you were vacillating
he/she/it was vacillating
we were vacillating
you were vacillating
they were vacillating
Past Perfect
I had vacillated
you had vacillated
he/she/it had vacillated
we had vacillated
you had vacillated
they had vacillated
Future
I will vacillate
you will vacillate
he/she/it will vacillate
we will vacillate
you will vacillate
they will vacillate
Future Perfect
I will have vacillated
you will have vacillated
he/she/it will have vacillated
we will have vacillated
you will have vacillated
they will have vacillated
Future Continuous
I will be vacillating
you will be vacillating
he/she/it will be vacillating
we will be vacillating
you will be vacillating
they will be vacillating
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been vacillating
you have been vacillating
he/she/it has been vacillating
we have been vacillating
you have been vacillating
they have been vacillating
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been vacillating
you will have been vacillating
he/she/it will have been vacillating
we will have been vacillating
you will have been vacillating
they will have been vacillating
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been vacillating
you had been vacillating
he/she/it had been vacillating
we had been vacillating
you had been vacillating
they had been vacillating
Conditional
I would vacillate
you would vacillate
he/she/it would vacillate
we would vacillate
you would vacillate
they would vacillate
Past Conditional
I would have vacillated
you would have vacillated
he/she/it would have vacillated
we would have vacillated
you would have vacillated
they would have vacillated
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.vacillate - be undecided about somethingvacillate - be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action; "He oscillates between accepting the new position and retirement"
hesitate, waffle, waver - pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness; "Authorities hesitate to quote exact figures"
shillyshally - be uncertain and vague
2.vacillate - move or sway in a rising and falling or wavelike patternvacillate - move or sway in a rising and falling or wavelike pattern; "the line on the monitor vacillated"
swing - alternate dramatically between high and low values; "his mood swings"; "the market is swinging up and down"
fluctuate - cause to fluctuate or move in a wavelike pattern
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

vacillate

verb waver, hesitate, dither (chiefly Brit.), haver, sway, falter, be doubtful, fluctuate, be uncertain, be unsure, teeter, oscillate, be undecided, chop and change, seesaw, blow hot and cold (informal), temporize, hum and haw, be unable to decide, keep changing your mind, shillyshally (informal), be irresolute or indecisive, swither (Scot.), be unable to make up your mind (chiefly Brit.), dillydally She is vacillating over whether or not to marry him.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

vacillate

verb
1. To move back and forth or from side to side, as if about to fall:
2. To be irresolute in acting or doing:
3. To change one's attitudes or policies, for example:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
epäröidäheiluahorjuahuojuasoutaa ja huovata
bera kápuna á báðum öxlum
duabus sellis sedeo

vacillate

[ˈvæsɪleɪt] VI (= hesitate) → vacilar, dudar; (= waver) → oscilar (between entre)
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

vacillate

[ˈvæsɪleɪt] vihésiter
to vacillate between → hésiter entre
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

vacillate

vi (lit, fig)schwanken; she vacillated for a long time about acceptingsie schwankte lange, ob sie annehmen sollte oder nicht
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

vacillate

[ˈvæsɪˌleɪt] vi (frm) to vacillate (between)oscillare (tra)
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

vacillate

vt. vacilar; fluctuar.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
References in classic literature ?
"At this moment," said Porthos, "I feel myself pretty active; but at times I vacillate; I sink; and lately this phenomenon, as you say, has occurred four times.
I know of nothing to make me vacillate. If I changed my mind, it must be because of something important and entirely new to me."
A man of my age and experience ought to have known better than to vacillate in this unreasonable manner.
They vacillate over the M4, spending millions, and then decide to do nothing at all, and want to criminalise loving parents.
He added, 'I'm trying to vacillate whether to release it or not, or simply if you will read it, you will be discouraged.
NNA - ACI Lebanon on Tuesday hosted a ceremony at Four Seasons hotel in Beirut upon its golden jubilee, under the auspices of Lebanese Central Bank Governor, Riad Salameh, who said that despite the current critical juncture shaking Lebanon on both the political and security levels, real growth was expected to vacillate between 2 and 5%, with inflation ration that would not exceed 4%.
BONUS WINNER: MR A COWELL, FULWOOD, LANCS ACROSS DOWN 1 Female spouse (4) 3 Irrational, paralysing fear (6) 7 Wicked (4) 8 Accompany (6) 10 Long-running TV medical drama set at Holby General (8) 13 Throw overboard (8) 16 Cure (6) 17 Ballpoint pen (4) 18 Public protest (6) 19 Remain (4) 1 Spanner (6) 2 Delicate, poorly-made (6) 4 Vacillate, dither (8) 5 Float used as a marker at sea (4) 6 Creative (4) 9 Small shrub with highly scented purple flowers (8) 11 Aid (6) 12 Stuck-up (6) 14 Group of three musicians (3) 15 Leave out (4) SOLUTION to Crossword September 2 ACROSS Wallflower, 7 Often, 8 Cliff, 10 Shovel, 11 Stir, 13 Away, 14 Warren, 16 Lithe, 17 Corfu, 18 Passionate.
Iran and Pakistan have already sealed a bilateral deal on the pipeline, but India has tended to vacillate due to a host of reasons.
An individual suffering from brain allergies might exhibit symptoms that vacillate between behaviors on both ends of the scale.
Sentiment is driving large daily swings as traders vacillate between the fear that oil prices will hit consumers and derail the recovery, and the euphoria that the U.S.
If it wishes to return to the issue, it should be looking at a reform that is equitable, effective, by making it easier to pay taxes, and at a system that encourages domestic and foreign investment--including by being predictable, rather than offering sagas as unedifying as that of recent days, in which the Government was seen to vacillate on the issue.
Reid emphasized that "things could go very fast" on the marriage issue once Parliament resumes sitting, so this is no time for pro-marriage Canadians to vacillate. Although there is a possibility the minority Conservative government may fall over a key issue such as the softwood lumber deal with the U.S.--thus pushing a vote on marriage further into the future--more likely an election will be triggered by something after the Liberal party holds its leadership convention this December, he explained.