单词 | pendulate |
释义 | pendulatev. 1. intransitive. To dangle, sway to and fro; to oscillate. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > oscillate [verb (intransitive)] > swing totterc1200 swing1545 vibrate1667 pendulate1698 swingle1755 pendulum1885 to play pendulum1893 1698 S. Crisp Christ Exalted 85 He had a good steddy pair of Ballances that did not pendulate an Hairs breadth. 1828 Westm. Rev. Apr. 442 As his [sc. an auctioneer's] hammer pendulates. 1865 Spectator 14 Jan. 49 Here we have a surrounding envelope of photogenic matter, which pendulates with mighty energies, and..produces heat and light in far distant worlds. 1922 Sci. Monthly 15 225 But why does the pendulum vibrate, or pendulate, to coin a necessary verb? 1987 R. Mistry Tales from Firozsha Baag 124 The length of gristle, which was pendulating gently with the weight of the bone at its extremity. 2. intransitive. figurative. To fluctuate or oscillate between two opposite conditions, opinions, etc.; to waver, vacillate. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > state of uncertainty, suspense > be in suspense [verb (intransitive)] > hesitate between alternatives halt1382 dilemma1687 bedrift1837 pendulate1837 vacillate1841 to be in (also of, occasionally on) two minds (also in twenty minds, in (also of) several minds, etc.)1853 to be torn between1871 to play pendulum1893 1837 T. Carlyle Diamond Necklace xvi, in Fraser's Mag. Feb. 186/1 The ill-starred Scoundrel pendulates between Heaven and Earth. 1873 Appletons' Jrnl. 3 May 577/3 She pendulates between Henri de Guise and La Molle, amid a thousand other flirtations. 1935 Amer. Hist. Rev. 40 330 Frederick pendulated uncertainly between his own rash projects and those of his Minister Podewils. 1991 J. L. Collier Rise Selfishness in Amer. 262 The American electorate for some decades has pendulated between liberalism and conservatism. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < |
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