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, in phone calls with reporters over the past two days, has vacillated between warmongering and offering unclear details about further negotiations.
—
Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 20 Apr. 2026
Barron vacillated between playing deep in situational dime packages, fitting run gaps as a veritable off-ball linebacker in big-nickel packages, covering tight ends man-to-man, and even started a game at safety.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 12 Apr. 2026
Their callouts vacillated from descriptions riddled with scientific jargon to exclamations of awe and joy.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 9 Apr. 2026
Yet Brown, who has vacillated on virtually everything this season, has gone in a different direction.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 1 Apr. 2026
Trump has vacillated between indifference and contempt for the USMCA, at times threatening to pull out of the agreement altogether and work instead to negotiate two separate, bilateral deals with Mexico and Canada.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 18 Mar. 2026
Trump has vacillated in his public statements on the deal.
—Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026
Aaron Peskin, another supervisor who leaned left, said that Newsom vacillated all the way to the end, as if awaiting the arrival of new information.
—Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026
While on the stand, Bianchi vacillated between different versions of his story and denied several elements of his original confession.
—Kelsey Lentz, PEOPLE, 18 Jan. 2026
Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 20 Apr. 2026
Barron vacillated between playing deep in situational dime packages, fitting run gaps as a veritable off-ball linebacker in big-nickel packages, covering tight ends man-to-man, and even started a game at safety.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 12 Apr. 2026
Their callouts vacillated from descriptions riddled with scientific jargon to exclamations of awe and joy.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 9 Apr. 2026
Yet Brown, who has vacillated on virtually everything this season, has gone in a different direction.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 1 Apr. 2026
Trump has vacillated between indifference and contempt for the USMCA, at times threatening to pull out of the agreement altogether and work instead to negotiate two separate, bilateral deals with Mexico and Canada.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 18 Mar. 2026
Trump has vacillated in his public statements on the deal.
—Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026
Aaron Peskin, another supervisor who leaned left, said that Newsom vacillated all the way to the end, as if awaiting the arrival of new information.
—Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026
While on the stand, Bianchi vacillated between different versions of his story and denied several elements of his original confession.
—Kelsey Lentz, PEOPLE, 18 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vacillated
Verb
-
As of last month, that number was about 3 million as employees hesitated to quit at a time when job searches can drag on for months.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Dean Kim, master baker and founder of OC Baking Company, said that Schwarz was the kind of chef who never hesitated to show up for others.—
Brock Keeling,
Oc Register,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Sheehan responded by turning in his best performance of the season, but the bullpen faltered in the Dodgers’ 6-4 loss to the red-hot Cubs, who won their 10th in a row.—
Michael Huntley,
Oc Register,
25 Apr. 2026
-
And the pitching and defense had faltered in key situations.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
22 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Vacillated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vacillated. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.
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