hesitation

hesitate (ˈhɛzɪˌteɪt)

—vb
1.	to hold back or be slow in acting; be uncertain
2.	to be unwilling or reluctant (to do something)
3.	to stammer or pause in speaking

[C17: from Latin haesitāre, from haerēre to cling to]

'hesitater

—n

'hesitator

—n

'hesitatingly

—*adv*

hesi'tation

—n

'hesitative

—*adj*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

hesitation

1620s, from L. hæsitationem (nom. hæsitatio) "irresolution, uncertainty," from hæsitare "stick fast, stammer in speech, be undecided," freq. of hærere "stick, cling," from PIE *ghais-eyo (cf. Lith. gaistu "to delay, tarry").

Example sentences

There could be no hesitation, no uncertainty in his movements.

The outré is accepted without hesitation and students generally detach

themselves from knowledge of the outside world.

So after years of hesitation, serious discussions about reform are under way.

Without hesitation, he poses for a picture with a brown bear.

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hesitancy hesitation waltz indicate jump misgiving pause

Matching Quote

"Run fast, stand still. This, the lesson from lizards. For all writers. Observe almost any survival creature, you see the same. Jump, run, freeze. In the ability to flick like an eyelash, crack like a whip, vanish like steam, here this instant, gone the next—life teems the earth. And when that life is not rushing to escape, it is playing statues to do the same. See the hummingbird, there, not there. As thought arises and blinks off, so this thing of summer vapor; the clearing of a cosmic throat, the fall of a leaf. And where it was—a whisper. What can we writers learn from lizards, lift from birds? In quickness is truth. The faster you blurt, the more swiftly you write, the more honest you are. In hesitation is thought. In delay comes the effort for a style, instead of leaping upon truth which is the only style worth deadfalling or tiger-trapping. In between the scurries and flights, what? Be a chameleon, ink- blend, chromosome change with the landscape. Be a pet rock, lie with the dust, rest in the rainwater in the filled barrel by the drainspout outside your grandparents' window long ago."

-Ray Bradbury