vacillate

vacillate
verb /ˈvæ.sə.leɪt,ˈvæ.sɪ.leɪt/
a) To sway unsteadily from one side to the other; oscillate.

Its [the barometers] normal register in the Paumotus [the Tuamotus] was 29.90, and it was quite customary to see it vacillate between 29.85 and 30.00, or even 30.05; [...]

b) To swing indecisively from one course of action or opinion to another.

On the streets of Berlin, Ruth and her compatriots vacillated "between hope and despair."


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  • vacillate — vac‧il‧late [ˈvæsleɪt] verb [intransitive] FINANCE if prices or rates vacillate, they continually change by small amounts: • Prices will vacillate near or slightly below current levels. • The rate of inflation has been vacillating between 4% and …   Financial and business terms

  • Vacillate — Vac il*late, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Vacillated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Vacillating}.] [L. vacillare, vacillatum; cf. Skr. va[ n]c.] [1913 Webster] 1. To move one way and the other; to reel or stagger; to waver. [1913 Webster] [A spheroid] is always… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • vacillate — I verb alternate, be capricious, be inconstant, be irresolute, be uncertain, be unsettled, be unsteady, be unsure, change, debate, demur, equivocate, falter, feel uncertain, fluctuate, hesitate, hover, librate, move to and fro, oscillate, rock,… …   Law dictionary

  • vacillate — (v.) 1590s, to sway unsteadily, from L. vacillatum, from vacillare (see VACILLATION (Cf. vacillation)). Meaning to waver between two opinions or courses is recorded from 1620s. Related: Vacillated; vacillates; vacillating …   Etymology dictionary

  • vacillate — *hesitate, waver, falter Analogous words: fluctuate, sway, oscillate (see SWING): *demur, scruple, boggle …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • vacillate — [v] go back and forth alternate, be indecisive, be irresolute, change, change mind, dither, fence straddle*, fluctuate, hedge, hem and haw*, hesitate, hover, oscillate, pause, pussyfoot around*, reel, rock, run hot and cold*, seesaw*, shilly… …   New thesaurus

  • vacillate — ► VERB ▪ waver between different opinions or actions. DERIVATIVES vacillation noun. ORIGIN Latin vacillare sway …   English terms dictionary

  • vacillate — [vas′əlāt΄] vi. vacillated, vacillating [< L vacillatus, pp. of vacillare, to sway to and fro, waver < IE * wek , to be bent, prob. < base * wā , to bend apart, turn > L varus, bent, diverse] 1. to sway to and fro; waver; totter;… …   English World dictionary

  • vacillate — v. (D; intr.) to vacillate between; in * * * [ væsɪleɪt] in (D; intr.) to vacillate between …   Combinatory dictionary

  • vacillate — [[t]væ̱sɪleɪt[/t]] vacillates, vacillating, vacillated VERB If you vacillate between two alternatives or choices, you keep changing your mind. [FORMAL] [V between pl n] She vacillates between men twice her age and men younger than she... We… …   English dictionary

  • vacillate — UK [ˈvæsɪleɪt] / US [ˈvæsɪˌleɪt] verb [intransitive] Word forms vacillate : present tense I/you/we/they vacillate he/she/it vacillates present participle vacillating past tense vacillated past participle vacillated formal to keep changing your… …   English dictionary

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