vacillate

English

WOTD – 10 July 2007

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin vacillātum, supine form of vacillō (“sway, waver”).

Compare oscillate

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvæ.sə.leɪt/, /ˈvæ.sɪ.leɪt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Verb

1. (intransitive) To sway unsteadily from one side to the other; oscillate.
   • 1910: Jack London, The Heathen

     Its [the barometer's] normal register in the Paumotus [the Tuamotus] was 29.90, and it was quite customary to see it vacillate between 29.85 and 30.00, or even 30.05; [...]

2. (intransitive) To swing indecisively from one course of action or opinion to another.
   • 2004: Chris Wallace, Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage

     On the streets of Berlin, Ruth and her compatriots vacillated "between hope and despair."

Synonyms

• (to sway from one side to the other): stagger
• (to swing indecisively): blow hot and cold, waffle

Related terms

• vacillant
• vacillating
• vacillation
• vacillator
• vacillatory

 

Translations

to sway unsteadily from one side to the other

• Catalan: vacil·lar (ca)
• Czech: kolísat
• Dutch: wankelen (nl)
• Finnish: horjua (fi), huojua (fi), heilua (fi)
• French: vaciller (fr)
• Georgian: რწევა (rc̣eva), რხევა (rxeva), რყევა (rq̇eva)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: schwanken (de)
• Greek: ταλαντεύομαι (el) (talantévomai)
• Italian: vacillare (it), ondeggiare (it), oscillare (it), sbandare (it), esitare (it)
• Latin: vacillō
• Portuguese: vacilar (pt)
• Russian: колеба́ться (ru) impf (kolebátʹsja), кача́ться (ru) impf (kačátʹsja)

to swing from one course of action or opinion to another

• Catalan: vacil·lar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 犹豫不定

• Czech: váhat (cs) impf
• Dutch: weifelen (nl)
• Finnish: horjua (fi), epäröidä (fi), soutaa ja huovata
• French: hésiter (fr)
• Georgian: ყოყმანი (q̇oq̇mani), მერყეობა (merq̇eoba)
• German: schwanken (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: ταλαντεύομαι (el) (talantévomai)
• Greenlandic: nakimavoq
• Icelandic: bera kápuna á báðum öxlum
• Italian: dubitare (it)
• Latin: duabus sellis sedeo, aestuō (la), vacillō
• Maori: tātāu
• Portuguese: vacilar (pt)
• Russian: колеба́ться (ru) impf (kolebátʹsja)

to be changeable, or inconsistent in speech or action

• Catalan: vacil·lar (ca)
• Finnish: epäröidä (fi), horjua (fi), soutaa ja huovata
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: ταλαντεύομαι (el) (talantévomai)
• Latin: vacillō
• Portuguese: vacilar (pt)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Kurdish:
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} vacilar (es), vacilarse

Further reading

• “vacillate”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “vacillate”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “vacillate”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• cavatelli, laticlave

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Italian

Verb

vacillate

1. second-person plural present indicative of vacillare
2. second-person plural imperative of vacillare
3. feminine plural of vacillato

Anagrams

• cativella, cavillate

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Latin

Verb

(deprecated template usage) vacillāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of vacillō