单词 | vacillate |
释义 | vacillate (once / 2770 pages) v Vacillate means to waver back and forth, unable to decide. You might vacillate between ordering waffles and pancakes at your favorite diner — it’s hard to pick just one when both are so tasty! Something that vacillates sways or fluctuates, often quite unsteadily. So use this verb to describe the staggering motions of a person who has had too much to drink, as well as the opinions of someone who can’t make up her mind. Synonyms include vibrate, hesitate, and waver. A wise Ethiopian proverb advises, "Do not vacillate or you will be left in between doing something, having something, and being nothing.” WORD FAMILYvacillate: vacillated, vacillates, vacillating, vacillation, vacillator+/vacillating: vacillatingly/vacillation: vacillations USAGE EXAMPLESHe’s vacillated between praising Obama for how he’s handled the transition, and criticizing him over it on Twitter. Seattle Times(Jan 02, 2017) Einstein himself vacillated for decades over whether gravitational waves should exist. Science Magazine(Dec 22, 2016) I’d spent the three years vacillating between arrogance and panic. The Guardian(Dec 09, 2016) 1v be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action Syn|Hypo|Hyper hover, oscillate, vibrate shillyshally be uncertain and vague hesitate, waffle, waver pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness 2v move or sway in a rising and falling or wavelike pattern the line on the monitor vacillated Syn|Hyper fluctuate, waver fluctuate cause to fluctuate or move in a wavelike pattern swing alternate dramatically between high and low values |
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