🤔 To be indecisive 🌊 To sway

to vacillate

8 8.1

To be unable to decide and keep changing between choices

verb
/ˈvæsɪˌleɪt/

: vacilar

Recently, Danielle has been vacillating between daydreaming in class and having small outbursts when redirected by her teacher.
vacillating policy
vacillated governments

Yeah, it's an interesting one that I I vacillate with my opinions around criticism.

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Examples

And I've watched Hollywood vacillate between despair and fear.
Unsure, he vacillates between moving forward and staying within the shelter of the tall buildings.

Fiction book (1998)
OK, So we got to vacillate between these things.
And I, I vacillate between it, right?
So what will happen in this stage is the hero will vacillate back and forth between identity and essence.

Film Courage
Others become marginal to both cultures and vacillate between traditional and imposed value systems.

Academic text (1992)
No wonder she vacillated about the place of the ballad in her new work.

Academic text (2010)
All winter I suppressed a nervous euphoria, vacillating between fear and anticipation.

Fiction book (1994)
Other women, like Elvira, struggle against the town's hermetically sealed environment and vacillate between conformist and nonconformist identities.

Academic text (1997)
She tends to vacillate between two different job offers, unsure which one to accept.

Synonyms

to waver

vsto vacillate

52 5.7

To show doubt when making a decision

is more about shifting between options rather than mere hesitation

to hover

vsto vacillate

37 5.4

To be unable to decide between different options in your mind

is more about alternating choices rather than only quiet uncertainty

to flip-flop

vsto vacillate

Literature

23 5.3

To suddenly change your opinion or decision

is indecisive by alternating views rather than making abrupt, rapid reversals

to waffle

vsto vacillate

15 8.3

To delay giving a clear answer or making a choice

is about changing between options rather than just avoiding clear commitment

to dither

vsto vacillate

8 7.7

To act nervously and be unable to decide quickly

is more about shifting choices calmly rather than anxious, slow hesitation

to waver in

vsto vacillate

3 6.6

To feel unsure about making a decision or taking action

is about changing between options rather than simple hesitation before action

to oscillate

vsto vacillate

3 7.4

Change repeatedly between different opinions or choices

is indecisive without implying a steady back and forth pattern

to dither over

vsto vacillate

1 7.9

To hesitate before deciding, often about small things

is about alternating between choices, not only fussing over minor points

to flip-flop on issues

vsto vacillate

Literature

1 8.2

To change opinions or promises about important matters often without a clear reason

is general indecision or alternating views without implying public distrust

to wabble

vsto vacillate

9.9

To be unsure and change your mind often

is general indecision but can also imply alternation without intent

to stand shilly-shally

vsto vacillate

Archaic

9.9

To be unsure and not decide

is more about switching choices rather than merely delaying a final decision

Antonyms

to decide

∞ 1.0

To make a choice after thinking about the options

to resolve

623 3.3

To find an answer to a problem and end a disagreement

How Wavering

to dither

8 7.7

to vacillate

8 8.1

to falter

4 5.6

to hesitate

318 2.5

Surface Forms

vacillate infinitive

vacillated past

vacillated past participle

vacillating present participle

vacillates third person singular

Morphology

vacillate = vacill + ate

Formed from the combining form 'vacill-' plus the verb-forming suffix '-ate'; the root is not a standalone English word, so an average B1 learner cannot predict the meaning 'be indecisive / waver' from the parts.

Etymology

Vacillate comes from the Latin verb vacillare, which meant 'to sway' or 'to wobble'. So when someone vacillates they move back and forth between choices and cannot decide.