How to Use oscillate in a Sentence

oscillate

verb
  • If the speed is low enough, the pendulum will oscillate back and forth.
    — Quanta Magazine, 15 Apr. 2024
  • If the speed is low enough, the pendulum will oscillate back and forth.
    — Leila Sloman, WIRED, 5 May 2024
  • Over the past three years, his sound has oscillated between folk and rock.
    — Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2025
  • With a blade grinder, coffee beans grind up with metal blades that oscillate much like a blender.
    — Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2025
  • Indeed, the chain can be made to oscillate at a rate that depends on how often it is zapped.
    — The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 5 Aug. 2021
  • While the inner bead sits there, the outer beads oscillate in and out, slightly out of sync.
    — Adrian Cho, Science | AAAS, 13 May 2021
  • Trump’s view of Comey has oscillated wildly over the past year.
    — Nicholas Schmidle, The New Yorker, 7 June 2017
  • And, just in case that’s not enough, even the oscillating weight is decked in diamonds.
    — Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 19 Dec. 2024
  • Those fortunes can oscillate by tens of billions of dollars by the day, or even a matter of hours.
    — Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2026
  • The best way to grab the oscillating tool and a high-output battery at a steep discount.
    — Andrew P. Collins, The Drive, 9 Apr. 2026
  • Trump has spent the past week oscillating wildly between threats of war and offers of peace.
    — Karim Sadjadpour, The Atlantic, 31 Jan. 2026
  • The brush head gently oscillates in a way that feels almost like a vibration.
    — Jessica Teich, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2018
  • This is a shift from the spinning, oscillating mops that have been popular for the last few years.
    — Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, The Verge, 12 Jan. 2025
  • Bigger and thicker plates oscillate more slowly, and so send out a deeper note.
    — Helen Czerski, WSJ, 8 Apr. 2021
  • This laser excites the atoms to oscillate, or move back and forth hundreds of trillions of times per second.
    — Chelsea Gohd, Discover Magazine, 7 Dec. 2018
  • Flu rates tend to oscillate, Pavia said, with a mild year often followed by a severe one.
    — Sean P. Means, The Salt Lake Tribune, 22 Feb. 2021
  • This time, the neutrinos seemed to be changing fast enough to oscillate while crossing a room.
    — Quanta Magazine, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Astronomers can measure how the mirrors oscillate to track the orbit of black holes.
    — Chad Hanna, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2025
  • The brand fills a distinct gap, oscillating between old and new, edgy and refined.
    — Barry Samaha, Robb Report, 24 Aug. 2023
  • All this as the painting seems to oscillate colors like an octopus.
    — Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2021
  • Red begonias, on the other hand, can flourish in plots that oscillate from sun to shade over the course of the day.
    — Adithi Ramakrishnan, Dallas News, 29 June 2023
  • At that scale the electric field that speeds the electrons along comes from the light’s oscillating electric field.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 26 Dec. 2023
  • This incessant pull back toward the center is what causes the swing to oscillate back and forth.
    — Bykatie McCormick, science.org, 7 Apr. 2023
  • Those fortunes can oscillate by tens of billions of dollars by the day, or sometimes a matter of hours.
    — Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Fortune, 12 June 2026
  • An oscillating multi-tool is better for large jobs, and it can also be used for other projects.
    — Lee Wallender, The Spruce, 5 Jan. 2026
  • This can help keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter; these fans work regardless of an oscillating mode.
    — Bestreviews, The Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2024
  • Their heated conversations ebb and flow, oscillating from the state of the world to the state of their lives.
    — Courtney Howard, Variety, 1 Nov. 2023
  • The broad black stripes of the wall mural oscillate too, between pattern and figure, flatness and depth.
    — Leah Ollman, latimes.com, 13 Mar. 2018
  • An oscillating fan hung on a cinder block wall in the one of the rooms caused an electrical fire, Beal said.
    — Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 12 Dec. 2025
  • But ask locals for advice—because chefs change and quality can oscillate over time.
    — Tom Mullen, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'oscillate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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