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
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
Lawsuits have followed many of these funding actions, and the subsequent back-and-forth legal battles have left some grants vacillating between canceled and reinstated.
—Evan Bush, NBC news, 26 Aug. 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
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
Lawsuits have followed many of these funding actions, and the subsequent back-and-forth legal battles have left some grants vacillating between canceled and reinstated.
—Evan Bush, NBC news, 26 Aug. 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
-
Despite unified denouncements of antisemitism, Fetterman criticized colleagues for hesitating to fully confront anti-Israel hostility.—
Staff,
FOXNews.com,
18 Dec. 2025
-
After a 5% rebound rally, the benchmark is hesitating a bit around 6850, comfortably near the upper end of a two-month range but perhaps marking some time to gather itself ahead of next week's Fed meeting.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
4 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
At the moment, its age is still uncertain.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Nov. 2025
-
How Barton will advance his campaigns now is uncertain.—
Greg O'Keeffe,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The other half sees an economy on the verge of faltering, with rising unemployment, that needs easier money to avoid recession.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
9 Dec. 2025
-
Efforts to advance a US peace plan for Gaza appear to be faltering over reconstruction and security challenges.—
J.D. Capelouto,
semafor.com,
11 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Ballard said his clients in the country at the time were unsure of what to do in the immediate aftermath of Maduro's capture.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
5 Jan. 2026
-
Maduro’s supporters gathered throughout the city, many bearing arms, but seemed unsure of what to do next.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Do not forget that the local job market was wobbly in 2025.—
Jonathan Lansner,
Oc Register,
9 Jan. 2026
-
The Rockies have taken their first step toward shoring up their wobbly rotation by adding veteran right-hander Michael Lorenzen.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The game would go on to become one of the season’s most thrilling, the score undecided until the final play of overtime.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
10 Jan. 2026
-
The Supreme Court is still undecided on whether Trump’s use of an emergency law to impose tariffs without Congressional approval was legal.—
Time,
Time,
7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
But managing that discomfort is arguably better than relying on an ambivalent superpower.—
Amanda Sloat,
Time,
2 Jan. 2026
-
The contrast shower still left me feeling ambivalent, but breathwork afterward came easier—slow, nasal, steady.—
Marisa McMillan,
Outside,
29 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vacillating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vacillating. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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