HESITATED Synonyms: 43 Similar and Opposite Words

hesitated

verb

past tense of hesitate

as in faltered

to show uncertainty about the right course of action I didn't hesitate to tell them that what they were doing was wrong and that I wanted no part of it

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of hesitated When stadium suites for the FIFA World Cup went on sale last year, the prices were so high that even the owner of Mercedes-Benz Stadium hesitated to buy one. —

Thad Moore, AJC.com, 3 June 2026 Jamie hesitated and then, in an actorly kind of trance, came over and joined her on the bed. —

Jonathan Franzen, New Yorker, 1 June 2026 But at the last second, Pages pulled up to let Tucker make the catch, and Tucker hesitated before flailing after it. —

Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2026 Pasco County schools Superintendent John Legg said his team has hesitated to dive too deeply into the amendment’s implications, knowing that the Legislature — particularly the House — has yet to weigh in. —

Lawrence Mower, Miami Herald, 29 May 2026 Like many businesses and restaurants in neighborhoods like Little Village and Pilsen, Carnitas Uruapan picked itself back up after economic woes and significant blows to foot traffic as customers were afraid to eat out, while employees hesitated to come to work. —

Louisa Kung Liu Chu, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2026 Last year Peter Thiel, the billionaire venture capitalist, hesitated in a New York Times interview to answer the question of whether humanity ought to survive. —

Elizabeth Bruenig, The Atlantic, 27 May 2026 Walt Disney World, in central Florida, for example, sees a large swath of international guests each year, and even some diehard fans from abroad have hesitated to return to that tourism behemoth. —

Natasha Chen, CNN Money, 25 May 2026 Instead, both hesitated, their feet tangled and a charging Healy banged in the loose ball. —

Idaho Statesman, 24 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hesitated

Verb

Every neighborhood has its own part in the story too, as the nightlife nexus has migrated up and down Manhattan, shimmied across the East River and back, and transformed, faltered, and thrived again over the past six decades.

— Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 June 2026
They had just been swept by the Miami Marlins at home as the bullpen faltered and the offense failed to come through with runners in scoring position.

— Danielle Allentuck, Washington Post, 7 June 2026