to vacillate
1
8.4
- verb
- /ˈvæsɪˌleɪt/
:
ondular
- As the waves hit the shore, the boat started to vacillate up and down, rocking back and forth on the water.
Examples
-
The flickering candlelight made the shadows vacillate on the walls, casting an enchanting pattern in the room.
-
In the final graph, the line does vacillate between ecstasy and misery, but not much beyond the baseline.
Blog text (11) -
Boycotts: how do you measure success where the stock market vacillates by 10, 20 points any day regardless of fundamentals?
Blog text (4) -
The Muslim authorities permitted Jews to erect a synagogue on the site, although the situation vacillated over the next few centuries.
Academic text (2013) -
His mountainous majesty casts a dozen vacillating shadows in the chiaroscuro of the corridor.
Fiction book (1996) -
The leaves on the tree began to vacillate in the gentle breeze, creating a mesmerizing dance above us.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To move across the sky or land with a smooth swaying motion
91
2.8
To make very small, quick moves back and forth
77
2.4
To move slowly from side to side in a gentle rhythm
64
1.0
To move with a smooth up and down motion, like a flag or the sea
52
6.3
Change often in level or amount, going up and down without a clear pattern
49
2.7
To move in small waves on water when wind blows
40
3.8
To move or shake unsteadily from side to side
35
3.5
To move quickly and lightly back and forth, like wings or leaves
32
1.4
To move quickly from side to side or up and down again and again
13
5.3
To rise and fall in a regular way like waves
13
4.1
To beat or move in a steady rhythm
12
4.8
To move or shake in a slight, unsteady way
10
7.7
To move in smooth waves like tall grass in the wind
8
6.5
Move back and forth in a steady rhythm like a fan
7
4.5
To move something repeatedly from side to side or up and down
2
8.8
To move back and forth instead of staying steady
1
3.9
Move up and down gently while floating in water or air
1
3.7
To move up and down quickly and lightly many times
Move back and forth a little before stopping
To move unsteadily while rolling from side to side
To move unsteadily from side to side
Antonyms
How Wavy
10
7.7
1
8.4
8
6.5
77
2.4
40
3.8
23
2.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
vacillate = vacill + ate
Although the sense 'move or sway' is etymologically related to the root, the combining form 'vacill-' is not a recognizable English base and the suffix '-ate' only signals verbhood, so the meaning is not recoverable by most learners from the parts.
Etymology
Vacillate comes from the Latin verb vacillare, which meant 'to sway' or 'to wobble'. That is why vacillate can also mean to move in a rising and falling or wavelike way, like a boat or a kite.