Advertisement

View synonyms for fluctuate

fluctuate

[ fluhk-choo-eyt ]

verb (used without object)

, fluc·tu·at·ed, fluc·tu·at·ing.
  1. to change continually; shift back and forth; vary irregularly:

    The price of gold fluctuated wildly last month.

  2. to move back and forth in waves.

    Synonyms: oscillate



verb (used with object)

, fluc·tu·at·ed, fluc·tu·at·ing.
  1. to cause to fluctuate.

fluctuate

/ ˈflʌktjʊˌeɪt /

verb

  1. to change or cause to change position constantly; be or make unstable; waver or vary
  2. intr to rise and fall like a wave; undulate


Discover More

Other Words From

  • non·fluctu·ating adjective
  • un·fluctu·ating adjective

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of fluctuate1

First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin fluctuātus “undulated,” past participle of fluctuāre “to flow,” equivalent to fluctu(s) “a flowing” (derivative of fluere “to flow”) + -ātus -ate 1

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of fluctuate1

C17: from Latin fluctuāre , from fluctus a wave, from fluere to flow

Discover More

Synonym Study

See waver 1.

Discover More

Example Sentences

The numbers fluctuate, of course, but some trends can be discerned.

Worst of all, they elide the obvious point that all revolts fluctuate between periods of progress and regression.

Margins fluctuate in every market, and there's no reason for farmers to be treated as a special case.

Other ideas about crying fluctuate between the sociological and the biological.

With liquidity so low, share prices began to wildly fluctuate.

Their dimensions, which vary a good deal, fluctuate between two-fifths and four-fifths of an inch in length.

Both credit and currency begin to fluctuate wildly with the evaporation of public confidence.

The syllable has great inherent sonority and does not fluctuate significantly as to quantity and stress.

His resolutions might fluctuate, and the pause of a few minutes restore to him his first resolutions.

Faces begin soon (in Shakspeare's fine expression) to "dislimn:" features fluctuate: combinations of feature unsettle.

Advertisement

Related Words

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


fluctuantfluctuation