hesitating 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of hesitatingnext
as in ambivalent

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

hesitating

2 of 2

verb

present participle of hesitate
as in faltering
to show uncertainty about the right course of action I didn't hesitate to tell them that what they were doing was wrong and that I wanted no part of it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hesitating
  1. ambivalent
  2. shaky
  3. waiting
  4. random
  5. aimless
Adjective
  • Israel and the West were long ambivalent about Assad's fate.
    Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2024
  • Ulf, however, is more ambivalent about Linn’s contribution.
    John Russell, People.com, 5 Dec. 2024
Definition of ambivalent
Adjective
  • Prediction: Oregon 38, Penn State 28 ACC Championship Game: No. 17 Clemson vs No. 8 SMU After a shaky start to the year, the Tigers have battled back.
    Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2024
  • However, when doubts creep in at the first signs of struggle or conflict, their commitment falters due to a shaky emotional foundation.
    Mark Travers, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
Definition of shaky
Verb
  • The songwriter placed himself in the situation of waiting for his dad to come home at Christmas — in vain.
    Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 11 Dec. 2024
  • As a result, the processor is spending more of its time sitting idle, waiting for data to be fetched from memory.
    John Werner, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of waiting
Adjective
  • People Magazine Investigates The shooting appeared random at first, but police eventually unspooled a strange plot involving Li's ex-wife and a bitter custody dispute over their son, Arik, who has severe disabilities stemming from a medical misdiagnosis early in his life.
    Liam Quinn, People.com, 7 Dec. 2024
  • They’re not being killed by random strangers—the threat typically hypothesized by fear-mongers.
    Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 6 Dec. 2024
Definition of random
Adjective
  • Critical possessions no longer feel aimless, as the Suns are flowing into their offense with intention.
    Shane Young, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
  • Without his six other members filling the space around him, and in the absence of a packed schedule keeping him hurdling full speed ahead, RM (born Kim Namjoon) is loose, unguarded, often introspective and occasionally gleefully aimless.
    Mackenzie Schmidt, People.com, 4 Dec. 2024
Definition of aimless
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near hesitating

hesitates

hesitating

hesitatingly

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Hesitating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hesitating. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on hesitating

Nglish: Translation of hesitating for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of hesitating for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

Point of View: It's Personal

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Words You Always Have to Look Up
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
naughty or nice
Are you naughty or nice? Quiz He's making a quiz, and checking it twice...