Vacillate — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action

move or sway in a rising and falling or wavelike pattern

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/vˈæsɪlˌeɪt/

🇬🇧British English

/vˈasɪlˌeɪt/

🇮🇳Indian English

/vˈasɪlˌeɪt/

3 syllables Say it as /vˈæsɪlˌeɪt/.

Examples

He oscillates between accepting the new position and retirement
the line on the monitor vacillated

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

oscillate waver fluctuate vibrate hover

Parts of Speech

verb	be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action “He oscillates between accepting the new position and retirement”
verb	move or sway in a rising and falling or wavelike pattern “the line on the monitor vacillated”

Word Forms

vacillant	adjective	uncertain in purpose or action
vacillation	noun	indecision in speech or action
vacillator	noun	one who hesitates (usually out of fear)
oscillation	noun	the process of oscillating between states
fluctuation	noun	a wave motion
waver	noun	the act of moving back and forth
wavering	noun	the quality of being unsteady and subject to changes

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

schwanken

über etwas unentschlossen sein; Schwanken zwischen widersprüchlichen Positionen oder Vorgehensweisen

🇫🇷French

vaciller

être indécis à propos de quelque chose ; hésiter entre des positions ou des plans d’action contradictoires

🇪🇸Spanish

vacilar

estar indeciso sobre algo; vacilar entre posiciones o cursos de acción en conflicto

🇮🇹Italian

vacillare

essere indeciso su qualcosa; oscillare tra posizioni o linee di azione contrastanti

🇳🇱Dutch

aarzelen

ergens onbeslist over zijn; aarzelen tussen tegenstrijdige standpunten of handelwijzen

🇵🇹Portuguese

vacilar

estar indeciso sobre alguma coisa; oscilar entre posições conflitantes ou cursos de ação

🇷🇺Russian

колебаться

быть нерешительным в чем-либо; колебаться между конфликтующими позициями или образами действий

India

🇮🇳Hindi

संदेह करना

किसी बात को लेकर अनिर्णीत रहना; परस्पर विरोधी स्थितियों या कार्रवाई के तरीकों के बीच डगमगाना

🇧🇩Bengali

অস্থিরতা

কিছু সম্পর্কে সিদ্ধান্তহীন হওয়া; বিরোধপূর্ণ অবস্থান বা কর্মের কোর্সের মধ্যে নড়বড়ে

🇮🇳Tamil

ஊசலாடு

எதையாவது பற்றி முடிவெடுக்காமல் இருங்கள்; முரண்பட்ட நிலைகள் அல்லது செயல்பாட்டிற்கு இடையே அலைச்சல்

🇮🇳Telugu

ఊగిసలాట

ఏదో గురించి నిర్ణయం తీసుకోకుండా ఉండండి; విరుద్ధమైన స్థానాలు లేదా చర్య యొక్క కోర్సుల మధ్య తడబాటు

🇮🇳Marathi

अशक्त होणे

एखाद्या गोष्टीबद्दल अनिश्चित असणे; विरोधाभासी पोझिशन्स किंवा कृतीच्या कोर्स दरम्यान डगमगणे

🇮🇳Gujarati

અસ્વસ્થતા

કંઈક વિશે અનિશ્ચિત હોવું; વિરોધાભાસી સ્થિતિ અથવા ક્રિયાના અભ્યાસક્રમો વચ્ચે ડગમગવું

🇮🇳Kannada

ಚಂಚಲಗೊಳಿಸು

ಯಾವುದನ್ನಾದರೂ ನಿರ್ಧರಿಸದಿರುವಿರಿ; ಸಂಘರ್ಷದ ಸ್ಥಾನಗಳು ಅಥವಾ ಕ್ರಿಯೆಯ ಕೋರ್ಸ್‌ಗಳ ನಡುವೆ ಅಲೆದಾಡುವುದು

🇮🇳Malayalam

ചാഞ്ചാട്ടം

എന്തെങ്കിലുമൊക്കെ തീരുമാനിക്കാതിരിക്കുക; വൈരുദ്ധ്യമുള്ള സ്ഥാനങ്ങൾ അല്ലെങ്കിൽ പ്രവർത്തന ഗതികൾ തമ്മിലുള്ള അലസത

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਖਾਲੀ

ਕਿਸੇ ਚੀਜ਼ ਬਾਰੇ ਅਨਿਸ਼ਚਿਤ ਹੋਣਾ; ਵਿਰੋਧੀ ਅਹੁਦਿਆਂ ਜਾਂ ਕਾਰਵਾਈ ਦੇ ਕੋਰਸਾਂ ਵਿਚਕਾਰ ਹਿੱਲਣਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

خالی کرنا

کسی چیز کے بارے میں غیر فیصلہ کن ہونا؛ متضاد پوزیشنوں یا عمل کے طریقوں کے درمیان ڈگمگانا

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

动摇

对某事犹豫不决；在相互冲突的立场或行动方针之间摇摆不定

🇯🇵Japanese

動揺する

何かについて迷っていること。相反する立場や行動方針の間で揺れる

🇰🇷Korean

동요하다

어떤 것에 대해 결정을 내리지 못하다; 상충되는 입장이나 행동 방침 사이에서 동요함

🇻🇳Vietnamese

lung lay

chưa quyết định về điều gì đó; dao động giữa các quan điểm hoặc đường hướng hành động xung đột

🇹🇭Thai

สั่นไหว

ไม่แน่ใจเกี่ยวกับบางสิ่งบางอย่าง ลังเลระหว่างตำแหน่งหรือแนวทางปฏิบัติที่ขัดแย้งกัน

🇮🇩Indonesian

bimbang

ragu-ragu tentang sesuatu; bimbang antara posisi atau tindakan yang bertentangan

🇵🇭Filipino

mag-aalinlangan

maging undecided tungkol sa isang bagay; pag-aalinlangan sa pagitan ng magkasalungat na posisyon o kurso ng aksyon

🇲🇾Malay

goyah

tidak membuat keputusan tentang sesuatu; goyah antara kedudukan atau tindakan yang bercanggah

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

تذبذب

يكون مترددا بشأن شيء ما؛ تتردد بين المواقف المتضاربة أو مسارات العمل

🇮🇷Persian

متزلزل شدن

در مورد چیزی بلاتکلیف بودن؛ تزلزل بین مواضع یا مسیرهای عمل متضاد

🇹🇷Turkish

tereddüt etmek

bir konuda kararsız olmak; çelişen konumlar veya eylem planları arasında bocalamak

🇮🇱Hebrew

לְהַסֵס

להיות מתלבט לגבי משהו; להתלבט בין עמדות סותרות או דרכי פעולה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'vacillate'?

The primary meaning of 'vacillate' is 'be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'vacillate' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'vacillate' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'vacillate' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'vacillate' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'vacillate' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'vacillate' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'vacillate' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'vacillate' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'vacillate' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'vacillate' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted