as in ambivalent
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Dissimilar Words
as in faltering
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of hesitating
Craig Morgan Teicher,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
While their rivals started spending significant sums of money as soon as the 2024-25 season finished, Spurs wasted a couple of weeks hesitating about the long-term future of then head coach Ange Postecoglou before replacing him with Thomas Frank.
—
David Ornstein,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
Right now, Taylor said, both sides are hesitating.
—
Rachel Barber,
USA Today,
8 May 2026
Walgreens isn’t hesitating to close stores in parts of Chicago where theft is frequent and there are legitimate concerns about the safety of employees and customers.
—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
6 May 2026
Trump has criticized European countries for rejecting or hesitating to get involved in the war with Iran.
—
Npr Staff,
NPR,
17 Apr. 2026
The Academy seems comfortable celebrating individual excellence within horror while hesitating to crown its films as definitive achievements.
—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
17 Mar. 2026
Palmer is the center of the film and building the cast around her initially had Riley hesitating.
—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Mar. 2026
The Names by Florence Knapp After a devastating storm, Cora brings her newborn son to be registered, hesitating when pressured to name him after her controlling husband.
—
Kait Hanson,
Southern Living,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
The book does often feel like a recording of a mental jam session, but there is also a sense of being guided by a kind of hesitating yet urgent voice that needs to get things figured out.
—
Craig Morgan Teicher,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
While their rivals started spending significant sums of money as soon as the 2024-25 season finished, Spurs wasted a couple of weeks hesitating about the long-term future of then head coach Ange Postecoglou before replacing him with Thomas Frank.
—
David Ornstein,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
Right now, Taylor said, both sides are hesitating.
—
Rachel Barber,
USA Today,
8 May 2026
Walgreens isn’t hesitating to close stores in parts of Chicago where theft is frequent and there are legitimate concerns about the safety of employees and customers.
—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
6 May 2026
Trump has criticized European countries for rejecting or hesitating to get involved in the war with Iran.
—
Npr Staff,
NPR,
17 Apr. 2026
The Academy seems comfortable celebrating individual excellence within horror while hesitating to crown its films as definitive achievements.
—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
17 Mar. 2026
Palmer is the center of the film and building the cast around her initially had Riley hesitating.
—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Mar. 2026
The Names by Florence Knapp After a devastating storm, Cora brings her newborn son to be registered, hesitating when pressured to name him after her controlling husband.
—
Kait Hanson,
Southern Living,
26 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hesitating
Adjective
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South Korean public opinion, especially among younger generations, has also grown increasingly ambivalent about the potentially enormous economic and social costs reunification would entail.
-
Garrett is ambivalent about playing hockey, which he was forced into by his cold and extremely famous star-athlete father (Steve Howey, giving perfect network-procedural-bad-guy energy).
Verb
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Chris Jung | Nurphoto | Getty Images Shares of Nvidia have been faltering recently — and Kalshi traders predict that what the company can charge for chips is also declining.
-
After faltering in last year’s Div.
Adjective
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But all that construction could be off to a shaky start, suggests Nerma Caluk, an engineer and lunar specialist for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, an architecture and structural engineering firm in San Francisco, California.
-
After a shaky first quarter that gave way to a nine-point advantage for the Wings, the Valkyries woke up thanks to a huge spark off the bench from Kaitlyn Chen.
Verb
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Instead of waiting until your breaking point to book a trip, start a travel fund and plan ahead.
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Some are exploring alternatives, including relocating to other countries, such as Canada, while waiting for clarity on their status.
Adjective
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This is the Alcaraz who is unbeatable, a man who cut out the vacillating streaks in his game that derailed him in Melbourne and Wimbledon.
Adjective
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The same engine that nudges one shopper up can hand another a discount to close a wavering sale.
-
He was encouraged by his timing and sensed Miller might be wavering, especially after an errant pickoff throw put the go-ahead run 90 feet away.
Adjective
-
Thankfully, there are self-aware jabs as well, and it’s all couched in a character- and ensemble-centric ending that has hearty portions that help the random sour bite go down smoothly.
-
Their choice of 14er was not random.
Adjective
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Liam, once aimless and unhoused, quickly finds purpose in the charade as a husband and father.
-
The book is structured as a quest to figure out why a class of aimless young men in late-Thatcherist Blighty get their kicks out of getting paralytically drunk and bashing one another half to death every weekend.
Cite this Entry
“Hesitating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hesitating. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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