as in weak
formal
not certain about what to do; not resolute
He has been criticized as an irresolute leader.
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Recent Examples of irresolute
Where Trump is unrelenting and single-minded, the justices have been inconsistent and unpredictable, and therefore appear irresolute.
—
Noah Feldman, Twin Cities, 24 Dec. 2025
Downtown, in his studio at the corner of White and Cortlandt Alley, on a Thursday evening in late July, Wyeth sat on his stool and considered the irresolute underpainting on his canvas.
—Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2025
The situation is impossible, irresolute— the B.J. Vineses and priests of the world shouldn’t get to walk away scot free.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2025
The prevailing sense among investors and market handicappers entering the month was to expect choppy, irresolute action full of potential scares.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 12 Oct. 2024
Showing signs of being irresolute can signal weakness that adversaries take note of.
—Michael Poznansky, Foreign Affairs, 5 Jan. 2024
In some states, the confusion felt by providers and patients is compounded by ambiguous, irresolute language in the new and forthcoming laws themselves.
—Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 2 July 2022
Vernon’s sea power duly secured the Panamanian export hub of Porto Bello (which would give its name to London’s Portobello Road), but the irresolute Wentworth was ignominiously defeated in his halfhearted attempts to capture Cartagena (in modern-day Colombia) and Santiago, Cuba.
—Washington Post, 10 Nov. 2021
Noah Feldman, Twin Cities, 24 Dec. 2025
Downtown, in his studio at the corner of White and Cortlandt Alley, on a Thursday evening in late July, Wyeth sat on his stool and considered the irresolute underpainting on his canvas.
—Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2025
The situation is impossible, irresolute— the B.J. Vineses and priests of the world shouldn’t get to walk away scot free.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2025
The prevailing sense among investors and market handicappers entering the month was to expect choppy, irresolute action full of potential scares.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 12 Oct. 2024
Showing signs of being irresolute can signal weakness that adversaries take note of.
—Michael Poznansky, Foreign Affairs, 5 Jan. 2024
In some states, the confusion felt by providers and patients is compounded by ambiguous, irresolute language in the new and forthcoming laws themselves.
—Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 2 July 2022
Vernon’s sea power duly secured the Panamanian export hub of Porto Bello (which would give its name to London’s Portobello Road), but the irresolute Wentworth was ignominiously defeated in his halfhearted attempts to capture Cartagena (in modern-day Colombia) and Santiago, Cuba.
—Washington Post, 10 Nov. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irresolute
Adjective
-
The past four years of conflict have exposed more than one faulty assumption, not least the previously widespread belief even among Kyiv’s allies that Ukraine would be too weak, too disorganized, to resist a full-scale invasion.—
Matthew Chance,
CNN Money,
21 Feb. 2026
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Continue reading … PARTY RECKONING — Cortez Masto admits Democrats have been 'weak on immigration,' chides Biden.—
,
FOXNews.com,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
When that might happen is highly uncertain, and completely up to Guthrie, given this month’s agonizing and all-consuming search for her mother Nancy.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
27 Feb. 2026
-
The uncertain availability and high prices have been complicating plans for out-of-town fans hoping to travel to North American cities for matches.—
Henry Bushnell,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Means, who has a medical degree but does not hold an active medical license, appeared hesitant to say that some vaccines, such as the flu vaccine, prevent serious disease.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Huff was hesitant to comment directly on UGA’s situation, but perhaps the football program could adopt something like that?—
Tyler Estep,
AJC.com,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Sometimes friends are indecisive or even anxious about planning.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Mercury News,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Hopefully, with Wilson and Hopkinson in situ, Newcastle will not allow this situation to turn into another indecisive mess.—
Chris Waugh,
New York Times,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Rarely wavering and never giving up.—
David Greising,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Feb. 2026
-
And while plans in baseball are subject to change, the Tigers do not appear to be wavering, not even after a dramatic turn of events on one of the more noteworthy days in club history.—
Ken Rosenthal,
New York Times,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Earlier this month, Nancy Guthrie, the elderly and infirm mother of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, was violently taken from her home in Tucson, Arizona.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Feb. 2026
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The four Democratic members of the JBC, which controls the state budget, asked with growing consternation why the Department of Corrections hadn’t brought them a plan to address overcrowding, to step up releases of old and infirm inmates, or to improve its own shortcomings.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
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.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Irresolute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irresolute. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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