vacillation

noun

vac·il·la·tion ˌva-sə-ˈlā-shən

Synonyms of vacillation next

: an act or instance of vacillating

: inability to take a stand : irresolution, indecision

Examples of vacillation in a Sentence

the president was soundly criticized for his vacillation before responding to the crisis

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The exhibition continually plays upon vacillations between intimacy and exposure, with one of the Torso prints of black and white buttocks enlarged and sprawling down the length of one gallery. —

Ara H. Merjian, ARTnews.com, 4 Oct. 2024 The uptick in shoplifting over the past six months, which follows vacillations trending upward over the past two years, is at least somewhat attributable to macroeconomic factors, according to a study released by LendingTree last week. —

Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 2 Aug. 2024 The vacillation between tragic and comic set pieces does justice to neither. —

Moises Mendez Ii, TIME, 23 July 2024 Contrasting success stories with the vacillations of the current administration will project Trump as a global colossus. —

Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 14 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for vacillation

Word History

Etymology

Middle English vacillacion, borrowed from Latin vacillātiōn-, vacillātiō, from vacillāre "to be unsteady, vacillate" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of vacillation was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century