Synonyms of vacillates

vacillates

verb

present tense third-person singular of vacillate

as in hesitates

to show uncertainty about the right course of action

vacillated for so long that someone else stepped in and made the decision

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hesitates
• falters
• dithers
• wavers
• staggers
• debates
• waits
• teeters
• balances
• scruples
• halts
• hangs back
• pauses
• sways
• wobbles
• lingers
• ponders
• procrastinates
• deliberates
• oscillates
• dawdles
• weighs
• equivocates
• shilly-shallies
• haws
• delays
• chickens (out)
• hems
• backs down
• considers
• dallies
• hedges
• waffles
• pussyfoots

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• decides
• plunges (in)
• dives (in)
• continues
• stirs
• advances
• budges

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of vacillates

Understandably, Penn struggles to hold these disparate points of focus together with a performance that vacillates between disarmingly dopey and almost willfully ignorant of the realities of the 2000s media landscape. — Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 17 Oct. 2026

Our political system vacillates between absurdism and horror. — Chloe Benjamain, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2026

Then there are the fragmented attention spans birthed by our dearly beloved screens, which cultivate a kind of cognitive whiplash that vacillates between amnesia and yearning for more. — Christopher Coffman, The Conversation, 24 Aug. 2026

The characters have little time to make life-or-death decisions, let alone ruminate, and the action vacillates between triage and doctors expertly improvising solutions — like Mel (Taylor Dearden) donating her own blood, and Javadi (Shabana Azeez) going MacGyver mode with a tracheal tube. — Ew Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 25 June 2026

In general, game-to-game data vacillates pretty wildly. — Sahadev Sharma, New York Times, 2 June 2026

And Dylan vacillates in that same way. — Stuart Miller, Oc Register, 1 June 2026

Pearl, Dale’s adult daughter, vacillates between disbelieving that her father committed suicide and blaming her mother for it. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025

The opening Allegro vacillates between punchy jabs and fluttery gaiety. — Sheila Regan, Twin Cities, 13 Sep. 2025