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
Striking the right balance between freedom for adults and safety for users has been a difficult balancing act for OpenAI, which has vacillated between permissive and restrictive chat content controls over the past year.
—
ArsTechnica, 15 Oct. 2025
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
Hitler’s two kinds of antisemitism From early in his political career, Hitler’s thinking about Jews vacillated between attacking them violently or through patient, step-by-step legal measures.
—Michael Scott Bryant, The Conversation, 2 Nov. 2023
ArsTechnica, 15 Oct. 2025
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
Hitler’s two kinds of antisemitism From early in his political career, Hitler’s thinking about Jews vacillated between attacking them violently or through patient, step-by-step legal measures.
—Michael Scott Bryant, The Conversation, 2 Nov. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vacillated
Verb
-
Wasefi hesitated, then started to play.—
Vidushi Mishti Sharma,
Rolling Stone,
24 Oct. 2025
-
People hesitated, unsure of how to play with something new without looking foolish.—
Cas Holman,
CNBC,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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More than 70% of the investment committed in 2023 came from international public finance; however, progress in programs such as the World Bank’s landmark Mission300, established that year, has faltered.—
Paige Bruton,
semafor.com,
27 Oct. 2025
-
When her movie career as an adult faltered, Lockhart shifted to television, appearing in live drama from New York and game and talk shows.—
NPR,
NPR,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vacillated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vacillated. Accessed 2 Nov. 2025.
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