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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in ambivalent
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hesitating
Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Concerns about the economy and tariffs do have some companies hesitating to make long-term decisions, but even with that concern, more are taking on long-term leases than were a year ago, CBRE found.
—Diana Olick, CNBC, 7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
As adults, this pattern can look like hesitating to ask for help, avoiding vulnerability or keeping emotional struggles private, even from those closest to you.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Concerns about the economy and tariffs do have some companies hesitating to make long-term decisions, but even with that concern, more are taking on long-term leases than were a year ago, CBRE found.
—Diana Olick, CNBC, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hesitating
Verb
-
China's housing downturn has stretched into a fourth year, with prices, sales, investment and construction activity faltering across the board.—
Anniek Bao,Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
25 Aug. 2025
-
Investors’ long-running enthusiasm for artificial intelligence showed signs of faltering late Tuesday and early Wednesday morning as tech stocks tumbled.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The relationship of the English to their flag is deeply ambivalent.—
Olivia Kemp,
CNN Money,
29 Aug. 2025
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This judgement is mine, for Herzog is far subtler and more ambivalent in his framing of Boyes, not fully suggesting in this film — made for the National Geographic with Disney money — that his subject is a loon but, equally, not leaving that interpretation off the table.—
Sophie Monks Kaufman,
IndieWire,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The attackers opened fire at people waiting at a bus depot, police said, before boarding a bus to continue the attack.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
8 Sep. 2025
-
The kids with the balls spent all that time hunkered down on the stairs, laying low and waiting to be allowed back to their seats.—
The Athletic Tennis Staff,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Dust clung to his skin and Olbinski’s shaky hands before the storm even arrived.—
Hayleigh Evans,
AZCentral.com,
28 Aug. 2025
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But that will be despite a really shaky offensive line — and Cincy’s defense might be as bad as Joe Cool is good.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
That’s particularly true at a time of economic volatility and wavering consumer sentiment.—
Meghan Hall,
Sourcing Journal,
3 Sep. 2019
Adjective
-
The bookstore idea came from a random day at her local coffee shop and an empty stall in the strip mall.—
Rick Mauch,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Sep. 2025
-
During a random search of the area, two officers accidentally stumble on a member of the gang posing as a municipal worker in a high-viz boiler suit.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Meetings without purpose are not aimless.—
Nirit Cohen,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
-
The pleasure Warner brings to the exchange reflects just how much his character has transformed from an aimless teen afraid to fail into an adult who recognizes that trial and error are part of life.—
Laura Bradley,
The Atlantic,
2 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hesitating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hesitating. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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