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Glite Dictionary
📈 A change 🌊 Up and down motion
fluctuation

fluctuation

2 6.2
A rising and falling movement like waves on water
  • noun
  • /ˌflʌk.tʃuˈeɪ.ʃən/
translation icon : oscilación
  • The graph charts the sharp fluctuations in rents during the years.
  • tidal fluctuations
  • sinusoidal fluctuations
  • quantum fluctuations

Examples

  • Normal tidal fluctuations do not appear to affect the water quality at the beaches.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Here lies the importance of the continuous fluctuation in oil prices.

    Academic text (2017)

  • I was just out of visual range of marker Wendy when I saw a fluctuation in the bay.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • But we also found that the average performance fluctuations could result from school closings and changes in service delivery models.

    Academic text (2005)

  • The fishery opens on January 1 and operates year-round; landings vary monthly due to fluctuations in availability, demand, and fleet participation.

    Academic text (2000)

  • The fluctuation in water levels caused the local fish population to decrease.

  • The stock market saw significant fluctuation today, with prices rising and falling rapidly.

  • Temperature fluctuation can affect the growth of certain plants in the garden.

Synonyms

vibration
vsfluctuation
73 3.2

A quick movement back and forth that makes something shake

is slower continuous rising and falling motion in waves on surfaces
ripple
vsfluctuation
  • Specialized
7 6.9

A small repeated change in an electrical signal that makes noise

is about larger visible up and down motion on liquids or surfaces
oscillation
vsfluctuation
  • Specialized
6 7.0

One complete back-and-forth movement, like a pendulum swing

is about continuous wave motion on surfaces or liquids rather than abstract systems

Antonyms

steady pace
5 2.7

An even speed without big changes or stops

How Wavy

surge
143 4.2
fluctuation
2 6.2
undulation
3 7.5
ripple
45 2.6

Surface Forms

fluctuation singular
fluctuations plural

Morphology

fluctuation = fluctuate (transparent) = fluctuate + ion

The sense describing wave-like rising and falling is directly derived from the verb 'fluctuate' and is a straightforward nominalization.

Etymology

Fluctuation comes from the Latin root flu-, from fluere, which means 'to flow', the same root as the familiar word flow. That's why fluctuation can mean a rising and falling motion, like waves or water moving up and down.