as in to hesitate
to show uncertainty about the right course of action
vacillated for so long that someone else stepped in and made the decision
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Recent Examples of vacillate
Ars Video Red Bull spent the second half of last year vacillating over whether to allow Perez to finish out the year.
—
ArsTechnica, 26 Mar. 2025
Veneno, ever the anti-hero and unreliable narrator, vacillates between her self-serving and diabolical impulses throughout the arc of her character.
—Samantha Riedel, Them., 28 Mar. 2025
Trump vacillated about federal funding for the Kennedy Center during his first administration, variously defending and criticizing federal funding for it.
—Brady Knox, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 8 Feb. 2025
Trump tapped Musk to lead DOGE, but the administration’s description of Musk’s role has also vacillated between heading DOGE and working as a senior adviser with no DOGE authority, depending on the context of the situation.
—Ashley Oliver, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 8 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vacillate
ArsTechnica, 26 Mar. 2025
Veneno, ever the anti-hero and unreliable narrator, vacillates between her self-serving and diabolical impulses throughout the arc of her character.
—Samantha Riedel, Them., 28 Mar. 2025
Trump vacillated about federal funding for the Kennedy Center during his first administration, variously defending and criticizing federal funding for it.
—Brady Knox, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 8 Feb. 2025
Trump tapped Musk to lead DOGE, but the administration’s description of Musk’s role has also vacillated between heading DOGE and working as a senior adviser with no DOGE authority, depending on the context of the situation.
—Ashley Oliver, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 8 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vacillate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vacillate
Verb
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Understanding why companies hesitate, and knowing how to work around it, gives you an edge.—
Dr. Diane Hamilton,
Forbes.com,
27 Apr. 2025
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Tickets are going fast for this panel, so don’t hesitate to secure your spot.—
Lorraine Berry,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Musk’s comments about his time allotment come just hours after a group of eight Democratic state treasurers wrote to the chair of Tesla’s board about the company’s faltering performance.—
Miranda Nazzaro,
The Hill,
22 Apr. 2025
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The Business Drama: Volatility, Strategy, and Turnaround What followed was a decade of operational rework—sometimes faltering, sometimes brilliant.—
Kate Hardcastle,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vacillate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vacillate. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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