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Webster 1913 Edition
Vacillate
Vac′il-late
(văs′ĭl-lāt)
, Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Vacillated
(văs′ĭl-lāˊtĕd)
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Vacillating
.] [L.
vacillare
, vacillatum
; cf. Skr. vañc
.] 1.
To move one way and the other; to reel or stagger; to waver.
[A spheroid] is always liable to shift and
vacillate
from one axis to another. Paley.
Webster 1828 Edition
Vacillate
VAC'ILLATE
,Verb.
I.
1.
To waver; to move one way and the other; to reel or stagger.2.
To fluctuate in mind or opinion; to waver; to be unsteady or inconstant.Definition 2024
vacillate
vacillate
English
Verb
vacillate (third-person singular simple present vacillates, present participle vacillating, simple past and past participle vacillated)
- (intransitive) To sway unsteadily from one side to the other; oscillate.
- 1910: Jack London, The Heathen
- Its [the barometer's] normal register in the Paumotus [the Tuamotus] was 29.90, and it was quite customary to see it vacillate between 29.85 and 30.00, or even 30.05; [...]
- 1910: Jack London, The Heathen
- (intransitive) To swing indecisively from one course of action or opinion to another.
- 2004: Chris Wallace, Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage
- On the streets of Berlin, Ruth and her compatriots vacillated "between hope and despair."
- 2004: Chris Wallace, Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage
Synonyms
- (to sway from one side to the other): stagger
- (to swing indecisively): blow hot and cold, waffle
Related terms
Translations
to sway unsteadily from one side to the other
to swing from one course of action or opinion to another
|
to be changeable, or inconsistent in speech or action