os·cil·late

[os-uh-leyt] verb, os·cil·lat·ed, os·cil·lat·ing.
verb (used without object)
1.
to swing or move to and fro, as a pendulum does.
2.
to vary or vacillate between differing beliefs, opinions, conditions, etc.: He oscillates regularly between elation and despair.
3.
Physics. to have, produce, or generate oscillations.
4.
Mathematics. (of a function, sequence, etc.) to tend to no limit, including infinity: The sequence 0, 1, 0, 1, … oscillates.
verb (used with object)
5.
to cause to move to and fro; vibrate.
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deserving or causing hatred; hateful; detestable.
something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time, especially a thing or person that belongs to an earlier time

Origin:
1720–30; < Latin oscillātus (past participle of oscillāre to swing, ride on a swing), equivalent to oscill(um) a swing + -ātus -ate1

in·ter·os·cil·late, verb, in·ter·os·cil·lat·ed, in·ter·os·cil·lat·ing.
un·os·cil·lat·ing, adjective

oscillate, osculate.


1. See swing1. 2. fluctuate, waver.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
oscillate (ˈɒsɪˌleɪt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  (intr) to move or swing from side to side regularly
2.  (intr) to waver between opinions, courses of action, etc
3.  physics to undergo or produce or cause to undergo or produce oscillation
 
[C18: from Latin oscillāre to swing, from oscillum a swing]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

oscillate
1726, from L. oscillat-, pp. stem of oscillare (see oscillation). 1917 in electronics. Related: Oscillated; oscillating.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

oscillate os·cil·late (ŏs'ə-lāt')
v. os·cil·lat·ed, os·cil·lat·ing, os·cil·lates

  1. To swing back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm.

  2. To vary between alternate extremes, usually within a definable period of time.


os'cil·la'tor n.
os'cil·la·to'ry (-lə-tôr'ē) adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Example sentences
Phase-change materials store or release heat as they oscillate between solid
  and liquid form.
No trailer shall whip, weave or oscillate or fail to follow substantially in
  the course of the towing vehicle.
These waves can carry more data because they oscillate faster.
Indeed, given the parties' high rates of candidate-turnover, many would-be
  parliamentarians oscillate between them.
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