Word a Day
vacillate
What does vacillate mean?
vacillate (verb): be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action.
Definition: Princeton WordNet 3.1.
How do you pronounce vacillate?
/ˈvæsəˌleɪt/ (IPA, American English). The app reads every word aloud.
Where does vacillate come from?
From Latin vacillātum, supine form of vacillō (“sway, waver”).
Etymology: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Test yourself: do you know “vacillate”?
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What does “vacillate” mean?
be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action
Right! That's what “vacillate” means.
to enlarge an object by pushing air (or a gas) into it; to raise or expand abnormally
Not quite: that's what inflate means.
to examine something with great care or detail, as to look for hidden or obscure flaws
Not quite: that's what scrutinize means.
to secretly spy on or investigate, especially into the private personal life of others
Not quite: that's what snoop means.
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