vacillation

2 8.5

Not being able to decide and changing your mind often

noun
/ˌvæsɪˈleɪʃən/

: vacilación

Regardless, confusion and vacillation over the continued role of blacks in the armed forces persisted until well into the twentieth century.
vacillation between two

Then fourth, you may start seeing in them the vacillation between hoovering and anger.

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Examples

The team's vacillation over which strategy to choose led to a delay in project completion.
The India-Pakistan crisis is another example of vacillation.

Academic text (2002)
Such dual expectations are very difficult to reconcile, and create a great deal of vacillation and uncertainty.

Academic text (1990)
Rumsfeld was prone to indecision and vacillation.

Academic text (2013)
For all of Bush's eagerness to look decisive, he has projected an image of vacillation to the world.

Academic text (2002)
Her constant vacillation between staying and leaving made it hard for her friends to know how to support her.
His vacillation in decision-making frustrated his colleagues during the crucial planning meeting.

Synonyms

hesitation

vsvacillation

110 2.8

A short pause before you speak or act because you feel unsure

is marked by ongoing flipping between options rather than a single brief pause

indecision

vsvacillation

19 3.4

Not able to make a choice quickly or with confidence

involves repeated changing of opinion rather than single delayed choice

hesitancy

vsvacillation

7 4.2

A short pause before you act because you are not sure

often involves frequent changes of opinion rather than mere slowness to act

indecisiveness

vsvacillation

3 5.1

Not being able to decide quickly or confidently

is marked by frequent changes of mind rather than fixed inability

wavering

vsvacillation

3 5.5

A time when someone is unsure about a choice

shows repeated back and forth changes rather than steady uncertainty

hesitance

vsvacillation

3 5.3

A short pause before doing or saying something because you feel unsure

usually shows repeated shifts in choice rather than simple reluctance

irresolution

vsvacillation

1 8.0

Not being able to decide or act

shows active changing between options rather than general lack of firmness

irresoluteness

vsvacillation

8.9

Not being able to make firm decisions

is more about flipping repeatedly between views than steady weakness

ambivalency

vsvacillation

8.0

A state of having mixed feelings about someone or something

involves changing choices and inability to settle not just mixed feelings

Antonyms

certainty

Literature

202 3.4

A strong feeling that something is true or will happen

resolution

73 3.5

A firm choice to do or stop doing something

How Indecisive

irresolution

1 8.0

vacillation

2 8.5

uncertainty

296 4.0

hesitation

110 2.8

doubt

∞ 1.6

Surface Forms

vacillation singular

vacillations plural

Morphology

vacillation = vacillate (transparent) = vacillate + ion

A regular nominalization of the verb 'vacillate' with the productive suffix '-ion', so the meaning (the act or state of wavering) is directly derived.

Etymology

Vacillation comes from the old Latin verb vacillare, which meant 'to sway' or 'to stagger'. Imagine someone swaying back and forth and unable to choose a direction; that's why vacillation means hesitation or being unable to decide.