vacillation

noun

vac·​il·​la·​tion ˌva-sə-ˈlā-shən 

1

: an act or instance of vacillating

2

: inability to take a stand : irresolution, indecision

Synonyms

• faltering
• fence-sitting
• hesitance
• hesitancy
• hesitation
• indecision
• irresolution
• pause
• shilly-shally
• shilly-shallying
• wavering
• wobbling
• wabbling

Examples of vacillation in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

After a whirlwind romance and much theatrical vacillation, Lowell abandoned Hardwick to join Blackwood in London in 1970, a move that would forever mark her as the other woman to Hardwick’s many passionate partisans. —Negar Azimi, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2024

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

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