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oscillate

[os-uh-layt] / 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:

He seems to oscillate between a collaborative and combative view.

From Slate ● Oct. 20, 2026

“People oscillate between euphoria, depression, anger and hatred,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

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

The waves could have gotten the vessel to oscillate back and forth, Sharpe said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

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

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Light also has a property known as polarization, which describes how its electric field oscillates.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026

Meanwhile, Brolin’s Bangley oscillates in personality from miserable bastard to laugh factory.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 6, 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

Good writing can flip the way the world is perceived, like the silhouette in psychology textbooks which oscillates between a goblet and two faces.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

International oil prices have oscillated under $90 a barrel in recent days.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 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

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

Since then, the president has oscillated between saying the US has already won the war and that the military campaign will continue for a number of weeks, usually ranging between two and six.

From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026

The only sound was the fan, clicking each time it oscillated across the room.

From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss

Firms’ early websites were perfunctory hubs of partner and contact information, and seldom updated to move with the oscillating trends of the internet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

While Johnson’s elasticity as a performer is a bit more contentious, I’ve always found her choices fascinating — oscillating between rom-coms, superhero films and arthouse horror with the bat of a mascara’d eye.

From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026

The Selic policy rate is 13.5% with inflation oscillating around 4.5%.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026

Many physical systems behave like tiny oscillating objects, similar to springs or pendulums.

From Science Daily ● May 1, 2026

Scientists wonder about what happens in an oscillating universe at the cusps, at the transition from contraction to expansion.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan


Vocabulary lists containing oscillate

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