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oscillate

[os-uh-leyt] / ˈɒs əˌleɪt /


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.

See Examples For:

The researchers could also change the direction of that current by rotating the polarization of the two optical fields, which describes the direction in which the light waves oscillate.

From Science Daily Jul. 28, 2026

Thus, governments oscillate between ignoring developments that are moving too fast to process and aggressively intervening when scary risks appear.

From The Wall Street Journal May 18, 2026

“It’s been kind of a sideways-driven market that is continuing to oscillate between good economic data and bad jobs data.”

From MarketWatch Feb. 5, 2026

You talked about how women have to oscillate between trying to be likable and lovable.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 10, 2025

Would it oscillate back and forth until it came to rest?

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

RSI, which oscillates between 10 and 100, tends to rise when prices rise.

From MarketWatch Mar. 6, 2026

As the next round of talks approaches, the public oscillates between faint hopes for diplomacy and an acute awareness that events far beyond their control may reshape their future overnight.

From BBC Feb. 27, 2026

The narrative oscillates between a journalistic view of the band’s history and something of an insider’s account.

From The Wall Street Journal Oct. 23, 2025

But someone in L.A. could have felt the “S” wave, in which bedrock oscillates perpendicular to the direction of the propagation of the wave, according to Page.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 30, 2024

If the universe truly oscillates, still stranger questions arise.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Aside from early in the war, when Mr. Trump oscillated between regime change and a Venezuelan-style renovation, he has sought a diplomatic ending to the conflict.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 15, 2026

Its overall light field oscillated in the same direction, even though it contained photons of different colors traveling along many different paths.

From Science Daily Aug. 8, 2026

The Feeneys oscillated between C and B over the years, a plus or minus coming depending on how much time had passed since the founding.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 26, 2026

Even though the stock-bond correlation has oscillated widely over the years, this ratio has remained remarkably constant — as you can see from the chart above.

From MarketWatch Apr. 30, 2026

As I turned away to continue walking up the trail, my emotions oscillated between nervous anticipation and a nearly overwhelming sense of dread.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

The debate about AI and jobs has become exhausting and largely unproductive, oscillating between “AI will take all jobs” and “AI will create more jobs than it destroys.”

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 9, 2026

"Financial markets are oscillating in a narrow, uneasy range as traders sized up the countdown to Donald Trump's Iran deadline," wrote Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.

From Barron's Apr. 7, 2026

They also carry oscillating energy from their initial excitation, which influences nearby electrons at adjustable frequencies.

From Science Daily Jan. 22, 2026

Clinging to the chassis of an airplane with the wind plastering his hair to his forehead and oscillating his gums like bulldog in a convertible, he is, in fact, exceedingly flapped.

From Los Angeles Times May 15, 2025

Each wave would be oscillating back and forth between the state on the right and the one on the left.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones




Vocabulary lists containing oscillate


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