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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
hes·i·tate    Audio Help   [hez-i-teyt] Pronunciation Key
–verb (used without object), -tat·ed, -tat·ing.
1.to be reluctant or wait to act because of fear, indecision, or disinclination: She hesitated to take the job.
2.to have scruples or doubts; be unwilling: He hesitated to break the law.
3.to pause: I hesitated before reciting the next line.
4.to falter in speech; stammer: Embarrassment caused the speaker to hesitate.

[Origin: 1615–25; < L haesitātus, ptp. of haesitāre. See hesitant, -ate1]

hes·i·tat·er, hes·i·ta·tor, noun
hes·i·tat·ing·ly, adverb

1. waver, vacillate, falter. 3. demur, delay.
1. decide. 3. hasten.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
hesitate

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
hes·i·tate    Audio Help   (hěz'ĭ-tāt')  Pronunciation Key 
intr.v.   hes·i·tat·ed, hes·i·tat·ing, hes·i·tates
    1. To be slow to act, speak, or decide.
    2. To pause in uncertainty; waver.
  1. To be reluctant.
  2. To speak haltingly; falter.


[Latin haesitāre, haesitāt-, to hesitate, frequentative of haerēre, to hold fast.]

hes'i·tat'er n., hes'i·tat'ing·ly adv.
Synonyms: These verbs mean to be uncertain, irresolute, or indecisive. To hesitate is to hold back or pause because of doubt or uncertainty: "A President either is constantly on top of events or, if he hesitates, events will soon be on top of him" (Harry S. Truman).
Vacillate implies going back and forth between alternative, usually conflicting courses: She vacillated about whether to go or to stay.
Waver suggests having second thoughts about a decision: After much wavering, he finally gave his permission.
To falter is to be unsteady in resolution or action: He resolved to ask for a raise but faltered when his boss entered the room.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
hesitate

verb
1. pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness; "Authorities hesitate to quote exact figures" 
2. interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing; "The speaker paused" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
hesitate1 [ˈheziteit] verb
to pause briefly eg because of uncertainty
Example: He hesitated before answering; The diver hesitated for a minute on the diving-board.
Arabic: يَتَرَدَّد
Chinese (Simplified): 犹豫,踌躇
Chinese (Traditional): 猶豫, 躊躇
Czech: váhat
Danish: tøve
Dutch: aarzelen
Estonian: kõhklema
Finnish: empiä
French: hésiter
German: zögern
Greek: διστάζω
Hungarian: habozik
Icelandic: hika, vera á báðum áttum
Indonesian: ragu-ragu
Italian: esitare
Japanese: ためらう
Korean: 머뭇거리다
Latvian: vilcināties; svārstīties
Lithuanian: dvejoti
Norwegian: nøle, betenke seg, vakle
Polish: wahać się
Portuguese (Brazil): hesitar
Portuguese (Portugal): hesitar
Romanian: a ezita
Russian: колебаться
Slovak: váhať
Slovenian: oklevati
Spanish: vacilar, titubear
Swedish: tveka
Turkish: duraksamak, tereddüt etmek
hesitate2 [ˈheziteit] verb
to be unwilling (to do something) eg because one is not sure it is right
Example: I hesitate to say he lied but he certainly misled me; Don't hesitate to tell me if you have any complaints.
Arabic: يَتَرَدَّد
Chinese (Simplified): 含糊
Chinese (Traditional): 不情愿
Czech: váhat
Danish: tøve
Dutch: aarzelen
Estonian: kahtlema
Finnish: epäröidä
French: hésiter (à)
German: zögern
Greek: διστάζω
Hungarian: vonakodik
Icelandic: hika, vera ófús eða tregur
Indonesian: ragu-ragu
Italian: esitare
Japanese: ためらう
Korean: 주저하다
Latvian: vilcināties; svārstīties
Lithuanian: nesiryžti
Norwegian: betenke seg på, nøle med
Polish: być niezdecydowanym
Portuguese (Brazil): hesitar
Portuguese (Portugal): hesitar
Romanian: a ezita
Russian: не решаться; стесняться
Slovak: váhať
Slovenian: imeti pomisleke
Spanish: vacilar, dudar
Swedish: tveka
Turkish: çekinmek
See also: hesitancy, hesitant, hesitation

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Hesitate

A*ghast"\, a & p. p. [OE. agast, agasted, p. p. of agasten to terrify, fr. AS. pref. [=a]- (cf. Goth. us-, G. er-, orig. meaning out) + g?stan to terrify, torment: cf. Goth. usgaisjan to terrify, primitively to fix, to root to the spot with terror; akin to L. haerere to stick fast, cling. See Gaze, Hesitate.] Terrified; struck with amazement; showing signs of terror or horror.

Aghast he waked; and, starting from his bed, Cold sweat in clammy drops his limbs o'erspread. --Dryden.

The commissioners read and stood aghast. --Macaulay.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Hesitate

Gaze\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Gazed; p. pr. & vb. n. Gazing.] [OE. gasen, akin to dial. Sw. gasa, cf. Goth. us-gaisjan to terrify, us-geisnan to be terrified. Cf. Aghast, Ghastly, Ghost, Hesitate.] To fixx the eyes in a steady and earnest look; to look with eagerness or curiosity, as in admiration, astonishment, or with studious attention.

Why stand ye gazing up into heaven? --Acts i. 11.

Syn: To gape; stare; look.

Usage: To Gaze, Gape, Stare. To gaze is to look with fixed and prolonged attention, awakened by excited interest or elevated emotion; to gape is to look fixedly, with open mouth and feelings of ignorant wonder; to stare is to look with the fixedness of insolence or of idiocy. The lover of nature gazes with delight on the beauties of the landscape; the rustic gapes with wonder at the strange sights of a large city; the idiot stares on those around with a vacant look.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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