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vacillation

 - 3 dictionary results

vac⋅il⋅la⋅tion

  [vas-uh-ley-shuhn]
Use vacillation in a Sentence
–noun
1. an act or instance of vacillating.
2. a state of indecision or irresolution.
3. unsteady movement; fluctuation.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME vacillacion < L vacillātiōn- (s. of vacillātiō) a swaying. See vacillate, -ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To vacillation
vac·il·late   (vās'ə-lāt')   
intr.v.   vac·il·lat·ed, vac·il·lat·ing, vac·il·lates

  1. To sway from one side to the other; oscillate.

  2. To swing indecisively from one course of action or opinion to another. See Synonyms at hesitate.


[Latin vacillāre, vacillāt-, to waver.]
vac'il·lat'ing·ly adv., vac'il·la'tion n., vac'il·la'tor n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

vacillation 
c.1400, from L. vacillationem (nom. vacillatio) "a reeling, wavering," from pp. stem of vacillare "sway to and fro." Originally in ref. to opinion or conduct; literal sense is recorded from 1633. Vacillate is attested from 1597 in the sense "to sway unsteadily;" meaning "to waver between two opinions or courses" is recorded from 1623.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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