vacillation
pronunciation
How to pronounce vacillation in British English:
UK [ˌvæsə'leɪʃn]
How to pronounce vacillation in American English:
US [ˌvæsɪˈleʃən]
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- Noun:
- indecision in speech or action
- changing location by moving back and forth
Word Origin
- vacillation (n.)
- c. 1400, "hesitation, uncertainty," from Latin vacillationem (nominative vacillatio) "a reeling, wavering," noun of action from past participle stem of vacillare "sway to and fro, waver, hesitate, be untrustworthy," of uncertain origin. Originally in reference to opinion or conduct; literal sense is recorded from 1630s.
Example
- 1. What supporters see as empathy , these critics depict as weakness and vacillation .
- 2. All this may sound like vacillation , but it provides an important lesson .
- 3. So the trade talks never heated up and howard , after much vacillation , eventually exercised his $ 19.5 million option for next season .
- 4. Vacillation plays a role . But so do two deeper political problems . First , the state machine has still not been modernised .
- 5. The case for the defence is that if mr obama 's vacillation discombobulated nato allies it also gave him leverage over afghanistan 's underperforming president , hamid karzai , who got a free pass from george bush but will now be under stricter supervision .