as in irresolute
Related Words
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Dissimilar Words
as in hesitating
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of vacillating
Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Anniek Bao, CNBC, 21 Apr. 2026
Trump has been more active than ever on social media in his second term, including posting lengthy all-caps screeds offering vacillating updates on the war.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 30 Mar. 2026
This hesitation was not the result of vacillating between options in indecision, but an active and regulated brain process to pause before acting due to environmental uncertainty.
—Eric Yttri, The Conversation, 12 Feb. 2026
Virginia Ritter spent most of her of the rest of her life vacillating between empathy and anger for her daughter's killer, all the while serving as a fierce victims' rights advocate in Nashville.
—Brad Schmitt, Nashville Tennessean, 11 Nov. 2025
By the end of March 2018 Aydın seemed unsure whether to try to clear his name or lay low, vacillating between the two strategies.
—Moisés Naím, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2025
The actress' create a world that engulfs you into their faux-showbusiness drama, a world of women vacillating between supporting each other and backstabbing to get themselves ahead, with striking performances that led to Oscar nominations for Davis, Ritter, Holm and Baxter.
—Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025
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
Verb
The status of further peace talks and other key details of the current relationship between the warring powers have grown increasingly opaque, with Trump vacillating between resuming saber-rattling rhetoric and indicating Washington’s readiness for additional negotiations with Iran.
—Anniek Bao, CNBC, 21 Apr. 2026
Trump has been more active than ever on social media in his second term, including posting lengthy all-caps screeds offering vacillating updates on the war.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 30 Mar. 2026
This hesitation was not the result of vacillating between options in indecision, but an active and regulated brain process to pause before acting due to environmental uncertainty.
—Eric Yttri, The Conversation, 12 Feb. 2026
Virginia Ritter spent most of her of the rest of her life vacillating between empathy and anger for her daughter's killer, all the while serving as a fierce victims' rights advocate in Nashville.
—Brad Schmitt, Nashville Tennessean, 11 Nov. 2025
By the end of March 2018 Aydın seemed unsure whether to try to clear his name or lay low, vacillating between the two strategies.
—Moisés Naím, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2025
The actress' create a world that engulfs you into their faux-showbusiness drama, a world of women vacillating between supporting each other and backstabbing to get themselves ahead, with striking performances that led to Oscar nominations for Davis, Ritter, Holm and Baxter.
—Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vacillating
Adjective
-
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,
Literary Hub,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The book does often feel like a recording of a mental jam session, but there is also a sense of being guided by a kind of hesitating yet urgent voice that needs to get things figured out.—
Craig Morgan Teicher,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
-
While their rivals started spending significant sums of money as soon as the 2024-25 season finished, Spurs wasted a couple of weeks hesitating about the long-term future of then head coach Ange Postecoglou before replacing him with Thomas Frank.—
David Ornstein,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
In no uncertain terms, the absence of those issues is bewildering, erodes the entire report’s credibility, and demands an explanation.—
Douglas Schoen,
Oc Register,
28 May 2026
-
Rumbello explains that while more people are actively seeking alternatives to pharmaceuticals, many remain uncertain about which solutions are credible.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
28 May 2026
Verb
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But now, as the public understands the consequences of our faltering democracy, more people are talking about it, Drutman said.—
Mary Ellen Klas,
Mercury News,
26 May 2026
-
Tangent The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board specifically calls out declining pandemic preparedness funding as a result of faltering political attention.—
Mary Whitfill Roeloffs,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
Adjective
-
Eagle Rock was unsure what this season would bring.—
Justin Vigil Zuniga,
Daily News,
28 May 2026
-
Many simply felt unsure about what to click next.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
27 May 2026
Adjective
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For a lavish Sunday brunch, visit Dancerobot, chef Jesse Ito's retro-style izakaya in Rittenhouse, and order the sourdough pancake, a wobbly, table-sized cloud served with red miso maple syrup.—
Regan Stephens,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
26 May 2026
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One was barreling down the sidewalk, heading straight for McCabe – topped with a wobbly 10-year-old boy who appeared to be making no attempt to slow down.—
Lauren Mascarenhas,
CNN Money,
24 May 2026
Adjective
-
But his hitting status went from likely to undecided.—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
27 May 2026
-
That was the hypothetical matchup that the pollster said Wasserman Schultz won with 52% of the Democratic primary vote, with 43% divided among seven other candidates, and 5% undecided.—
Anthony Man,
Sun Sentinel,
27 May 2026
Adjective
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Their attempts to destroy the bourgeois family were, like the efforts of Suzanna’s mother and grandmother, ambivalent and half-hearted.—
Julius Taranto,
The Atlantic,
1 June 2026
-
His sisters were less ambivalent.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Vacillating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vacillating. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.
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