Skip to main content
irresolution

irresolution

1 8.0
Not being able to decide or act
  • noun
  • /ˌɪrəˈzəluːʃən/
: indecisión
  • I especially like the way you work through irresolution, reconciling your politics and fandom.

Examples

  • The use of overwhelming force in Afghanistan helped to restore U.S. credibility after a decade of irresolution, halfhearted interventions, and flaccid responses to previous attacks.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Reyes showed no reaction to his irresolution.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction?

    Blog text (12)
  • There is no definitive explanation for the painting's mystery, and the resulting state of irresolution compels a particularly active engagement with the painting.

    Academic text (1993)
  • This essay examines the irresolution of the Western Sahara conflict from a regional perspective.

    Academic text (1995)
  • The irresolution of the Western Sahara conflict has been a brake on more complete and mutually beneficial regional integration.

    Academic text (1995)
  • On the foreign-policy side, the self-confidence of presidential rhetoric has sometimes been undermined by the irresolution of presidential behavior.

    Academic text (2009)
  • The new complexity encourages irresolution, which in turn bequeaths a sense of collective failure, as the years of appeasement sadly demonstrated.

    Academic text (1994)
  • By introducing opacity, ambiguity, and plot irresolution into the narrative, these contestations solicit active reader engagement to interpret the compulsions behind such contestations.

    Academic text (2017)
  • Her constant irresolution about which college to attend made the application process very stressful.

Synonyms

indecision
vsirresolution
20 3.4

Not able to make a choice quickly or with confidence

emphasizes absence of resolve rather than just slow choice making
hesitancy
vsirresolution
7 4.2

A short pause before you act because you are not sure

is more about an ongoing absence of determination than momentary delay
indecisiveness
vsirresolution
3 5.1

Not being able to decide quickly or confidently

focuses more on a general lack of determination than on decision speed
wavering
vsirresolution
3 5.5

A time when someone is unsure about a choice

refers to a stable condition of lacking determination rather than temporary unsteadiness
vacillation
vsirresolution
2 8.5

Not being able to decide and changing your mind often

covers the general inability to decide rather than repeated opinion changes
unsureness
vsirresolution
1 3.8

A feeling of doubt or low confidence

centres on lack of determination rather than mere low confidence
incertitude
vsirresolution
  • Formal
1 8.9

A feeling of not being sure or confident about something

highlights missing determination behind the uncertainty rather than doubt alone
dubiety
vsirresolution
  • Formal
1 9.9

A feeling of doubt or uncertainty about something

is more practical, pointing to missing determination in actual decisions
irresoluteness
vsirresolution
1 8.9

Not being able to make firm decisions

is the broader state of being unable to decide due to low determination
unfixity
vsirresolution
9.9

A habit of changing your mind, feelings, or plans

focuses on the core absence of determination rather than mere variability

Antonyms

certainty
  • Literature
198 3.4

A strong feeling that something is true or will happen

83 3.5

A firm choice to do or stop doing something

How Resolute

determination
155 3.0
irresolution
1 8.0
hesitation
101 2.8

Surface Forms

irresolution singular
irresolutions plural

Morphology

irresolution = resolution (transparent) = ir + resolution

The prefix 'ir-' clearly negates the noun 'resolution', indicating a lack of determination.

Etymology

The word irresolution starts with in- meaning 'not' and the rest is resolution, which is related to resolve meaning 'to decide'. So irresolution means 'not able to decide' or a lack of determination.