as in hesitated
to show uncertainty about the right course of action
vacillated for so long that someone else stepped in and made the decision
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Recent Examples of vacillated
Trump has just vacillated hardest in Kyiv’s favour.
—
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
But the Broncos have vacillated all over the map in efficiency on every down the last two weeks, and have seen their offense come to a screeching fourth-quarter halt in close losses because of it.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
Trump calls out political rivals in wide-ranging eulogy Trump vacillated between eulogizing Kirk, celebrating his political achievements, and taking shots at his rivals, including former President Joe Biden.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 21 Sep. 2025
However, recent editions have vacillated wildly in scorelines.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
This means his net approval rating in the last four weeks has vacillated between -14 points and -15 points.
—Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Aug. 2025
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
But the Broncos have vacillated all over the map in efficiency on every down the last two weeks, and have seen their offense come to a screeching fourth-quarter halt in close losses because of it.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
Trump calls out political rivals in wide-ranging eulogy Trump vacillated between eulogizing Kirk, celebrating his political achievements, and taking shots at his rivals, including former President Joe Biden.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 21 Sep. 2025
However, recent editions have vacillated wildly in scorelines.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
This means his net approval rating in the last four weeks has vacillated between -14 points and -15 points.
—Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vacillated
Verb
-
Shaking in his seat, Dobby initially hesitated to comment on the subject, but then segment anchor Michael Che offered him some encouragement.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Oct. 2025
-
The director hesitated to watch the film at the Cannes Classics showing.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Like last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Hurts had a hot start and then faltered in the second half.—
Ted Nguyen,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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Although both players were made to save break points early on in the deciding set, Nosková faltered first as Anisimova took a 4-2 lead, cutting down on the unforced errors that were her downfall in the second.—
Frank Nunns O'Connell,
CNN Money,
6 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vacillated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vacillated. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.
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