Vacillate
/ˈvæs.ɪ.leɪt/noun
To waver between choices or opinions; to be indecisive.
Did you know?Vacillate comes from Latin *vacillāre*, meaning “to sway, stagger, or be unsteady,” a physical image that became a psychological one in English.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*weǵ-
“To move, transport, or be active in motion.”
Latin
Latin
vacillāre
“To sway, totter, stagger, or be unsteady.”
Late Latin
Latin
vacillātus
“Shaken, wavering, or unstable.”
Late 16th Century
English
vacillate
“To waver or stagger; to be unsteady in movement or judgment.”
Modern English
English
vacillate
“To hesitate between choices or opinions.”