as in weak
formal
not certain about what to do; not resolute
He has been criticized as an irresolute leader.
Related Words
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Dissimilar Words
as in hesitation
a state or an instance of temporary inaction because of uncertainty about the right course of action
after a moment of anguished irresolution, I raised my rifle and fired at the charging animal
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of irresolute
Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 11 June 2026
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
Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026
The Oslo musician’s debut album is a darkly glamorous blur of trip-hop and dance pop, with copious reverb and Auto-Tune as stand-ins for yearning, uneasiness, and irresolution.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
Both Fortune and Harris express having great empathy for the protagonist, who was an insecure girl that had an irresolute boyfriend and made a grave mistake.
—Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 11 June 2026
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
Noun
In those heady decades of postmodern language-play and seductive irresolution, claims for literature as a force for truth and justice would likely be dismissed, with a smirk, as humanist pieties.
—Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026
The Oslo musician’s debut album is a darkly glamorous blur of trip-hop and dance pop, with copious reverb and Auto-Tune as stand-ins for yearning, uneasiness, and irresolution.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 22 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irresolute
Adjective
-
But lingering high ticket prices combined with weaker teams might mean sparse attendance.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
19 June 2026
-
Tokyo wants to appear to be fighting a weak yen, while welcoming it in private.—
William Pesek,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2026
Adjective
-
The agreement, however, remains uncertain.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
18 June 2026
-
The continued legal wrangling made uncertain what his status could be for Tech's remaining games.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 June 2026
Adjective
-
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, later in the inning after Luzardo gave up another hit, Kruk was not hesitant to remind everyone how everything had gone down.—
Matt Reigle OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
17 June 2026
-
Still, some council members remained hesitant Tuesday to cede its bottom-line lawmaking authority, even after the eight-member body had voted 5-3 earlier this month to advance Lee’s proposal.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
17 June 2026
Adjective
-
Helena Newman, auctioneer and chairman of Impressionist and modern art, elegant in a green Victoria Beckham dress, leaned firmly on specialists with indecisive phone bidders.—
Daniel Cassady,
ARTnews.com,
20 May 2026
-
Frustration with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, which many Democrats share, reflects a sense that the Party is factious and indecisive—even as its electoral prospects are finally improving.—
Amy Davidson Sorkin,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
Adjective
-
The same engine that nudges one shopper up can hand another a discount to close a wavering sale.—
Dara-Abasi Ita,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2026
-
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.—
Katie Woo,
New York Times,
20 May 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
-
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 20 Jun. 2026.
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