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Synonyms
indecisive
staggering
changeable
irresolute
uncertain
undecided
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vacillating
[
vas
-
uh
-ley-ting
]
Example Sentences
Origin
vac·il·lat·ing
/
ˈvæs
əˌleɪ
tɪŋ
/
Show Spelled
[
vas
-
uh
-ley-ting
]
Show IPA
adjective
1.
not resolute; wavering; indecisive; hesitating:
an ineffectual, vacillating person.
2.
oscillating; swaying; fluctuating:
a vacillating indicator.
Also,
vacillant.
Origin:
1805–15;
vacillate
+
-ing
2
Related forms
vac·il·lat·ing·ly,
adverb
non·vac·il·lat·ing,
adjective
un·vac·il·lat·ing,
adjective
Synonyms
1.
See
fickle.
:10
:09
:08
:07
:06
:05
:04
:03
:02
:01
Vacillating
is always a great word to know.
So is
ninnyhammer
. Does it mean:
So is
bezoar
. Does it mean:
So is
quincunx
. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Example Sentences
No wonder some voters think he's a
vacillating
wimp.
From the sound of your post, though, you are
vacillating
.
He appears inconsistent and contradictory, as though he is
vacillating
and indecisive.
EXPAND
No wonder some voters think he's a
vacillating
wimp.
From the sound of your post, though, you are
vacillating
.
He appears inconsistent and contradictory, as though he is
vacillating
and indecisive.
But he has come under new pressure from critics who are calling him weak and
vacillating
.
Feldman's
vacillating
new comedy needs other adjustments as well.
Cserhalmi's political viewpoint is governed almost exclusively by his
vacillating
emotions.
The other characters live in a state of anxious idleness,
vacillating
between depression and seething, impotent anger.
By the time the camera has finished
vacillating
between the horse's flying.
Now it is the recipients who are
vacillating
about accepting.
I've watched the video several times now,
vacillating
between thinking it's an outrage and thinking it's a moving.
Sparks seemed to be
vacillating
between acknowledging that the injury hampered him and saying he had no excuse for his poor play.
Visits and conversations with old people are influenced by ancient and
vacillating
expectations of how to behave.
She is a
vacillating
young person, one moment admiring her cowboy husband and the next wishing she were freed from him.
COLLAPSE
Dictionary.com Unabridged
vac·il·late
/
ˈvæs
əˌleɪt
/
Show Spelled
[
vas
-
uh
-leyt
]
Show IPA
verb (used without object),
-lat·ed,
-lat·ing.
1.
to waver in mind or opinion; be indecisive or irresolute:
His tendency to vacillate makes him a poor leader.
2.
to sway unsteadily; waver; totter; stagger.
3.
to oscillate or fluctuate.
Origin:
1590–1600;
<
Latin
vacillātus
(past participle of
vacillāre
to sway to and fro);
see
-ate
1
Related forms
vac·il·la·tor,
noun
Synonyms
1.
hesitate.
See
waver.
2.
reel.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
|
Link To
vacillating
Collins
World English Dictionary
vacillating
or
vacillant
(ˈvæsɪˌleɪtɪŋ, ˈvæsɪlənt)
—
adj
inclined to waver; indecisive
vacillant
or
vacillant
—
adj
'vacillatingly
or
vacillant
—
adv
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
vacillate
1590s, "to sway unsteadily," from L. vacillatum, from vacillare (see
vacillation
). Meaning "to waver between two opinions or courses" is recorded from 1620s. Related: Vacillated; vacillates; vacillating.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
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fickle
doubtful
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vacillant
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Matching Quote
"Old France, weighed down with history, prostrated by wars and revolutions, endlesly
vacillating
from greatness to decline, but revived, century after century, by the genius of renewal!"
-Charles De Gaulle
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