- present tense form of vacillate (3rd person singular).
vacillates
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It is closer to music than epic, a mesmerizing suite of songs that conveys Tennyson’s private sorrow as he vacillates from unbearable agony to precarious hope.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
Peake’s staid and knowing portrayal stands in contrast and complement to that of Petticrew, whose resolute manner vacillates between a flinty swagger and true anguish.
From Salon ● Nov. 14, 2024
Driven by a dark kineticism, it vacillates between contempt and gratitude at a velocity that catches my husband, my therapist, even me off-guard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2024
As the score vacillates between rhythmic, melodic passages and warped dissonance, they look at times like they’re trying to worm their way out of their bodies.
From New York Times ● Apr. 24, 2023
Between these ifs he vacillates, swung like a ship on stormy waters, touching heaven and hell.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 2, No. 14, December 1858 by Various
