Vacillate

Choose the Right Synonym for vacillate

hesitate, waver, vacillate, falter mean to show irresolution or uncertainty. hesitate implies a pause before deciding or acting or choosing. hesitated before answering the question waver implies hesitation after seeming to decide and so connotes weakness or a retreat. wavered in his support of the rebels vacillate implies prolonged hesitation from inability to reach a firm decision. vacillated until events were out of control falter implies a wavering or stumbling and often connotes nervousness, lack of courage, or outright fear. never once faltered during her testimony

Examples of vacillate in a Sentence

She has vacillated on this issue. vacillated for so long that someone else stepped in and made the decision

Recent Examples on the Web But when what seems like her last shot at success slips away, Radha decides to reinvent herself as rapper, proceeding to vacillate between the worlds of hip-hop and theater on a quest to find her true voice. — Tyler Aquilina, EW.com, "Netflix drops painfully funny trailer for Sundance sensation The Forty-Year-Old Version," 26 Aug. 2020 Trump has been reluctant, at times, to point fingers at Beijing in the past couple of months, vacillating between being soft and hard on the Chinese government. — Nihal Krishan, Washington Examiner, "'You’d save $500 billion': Trump threatens to cut off trade with China," 14 May 2020 The Trump administration has vacillated on biofuel policy decisions in the past, raising the possibility of yet another change in course. — Jennifer A Dlouhy, Bloomberg.com, "Trump’s Biofuel Plan Triggers Fallout in U.S. Farm Country," 10 May 2020 Stocks have whipsawed this week as investors vacillated between the threat that the coronavirus poses to the global economy and the hopes that governments around the world will unveil a series of measures to help businesses. — New York Times, "Stocks Plunge, With Dow in Bear Market: Live Updates," 11 Mar. 2020 The muddled nature of the New Hampshire field could give a boost to whomever emerges victorious in Iowa’s Feb. 3 caucuses, possibly helping to tip vacillating Granite State voters toward a newly evident front-runner. — Victoria Mcgrane, BostonGlobe.com, "Sanders, Biden lead tight pack of front-runners in Suffolk University/Boston Globe N.H. poll," 21 Jan. 2020 Maduro, who has dealt with bouts of serious unrest of his own this year, has vacillated between appearing to claim credit for the multiple uprisings abroad and poking fun at his enemies’ accusations. — Washington Post, "Mastermind or scapegoat? Besieged South American leaders blame Venezuela’s Maduro for historic wave of unrest," 31 Oct. 2019 Since Trump was elected in 2016, both Waters and Green have been consistent in categorically denouncing Trump’s loathsome conduct and calling for his removal from office while Democratic Party leaders vacillated on the topic. — Lincoln Anthony Blades, Teen Vogue, "Trump Impeachment Inquiry Is Happening Thanks to Lawmakers of Color," 18 Oct. 2019 One senior administration official close to Bolton described him as frustrated with the president’s vacillating positions, his willingness to meet with any world leader without conditions, and dysfunction within the administration. — BostonGlobe.com, "Trump disparages his ousted national security adviser, saying he made ‘some very big mistakes’ - The Boston Globe," 12 Sep. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'vacillate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.