hesitating 1 of 2

adjective

as in ambivalent

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hesitating

2 of 2

verb

present participle of hesitate
as in faltering
to show uncertainty about the right course of action I didn't hesitate to tell them that what they were doing was wrong and that I wanted no part of it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hesitating
Verb
Right now, Taylor said, both sides are hesitating. — Rachel Barber, USA Today, 8 May 2026 Palmer is the center of the film and building the cast around her initially had Riley hesitating. — Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 13 Mar. 2026 The book does often feel like a recording of a mental jam session, but there is also a sense of being guided by a kind of hesitating yet urgent voice that needs to get things figured out. — Craig Morgan Teicher, Literary Hub, 1 June 2026 Trump has criticized European countries for rejecting or hesitating to get involved in the war with Iran. — Npr Staff, NPR, 17 Apr. 2026 Walgreens isn’t hesitating to close stores in parts of Chicago where theft is frequent and there are legitimate concerns about the safety of employees and customers. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 6 May 2026 The Names by Florence Knapp After a devastating storm, Cora brings her newborn son to be registered, hesitating when pressured to name him after her controlling husband. — Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 26 Feb. 2026 The Academy seems comfortable celebrating individual excellence within horror while hesitating to crown its films as definitive achievements. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 17 Mar. 2026 While their rivals started spending significant sums of money as soon as the 2024-25 season finished, Spurs wasted a couple of weeks hesitating about the long-term future of then head coach Ange Postecoglou before replacing him with Thomas Frank. — David Ornstein, New York Times, 29 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hesitating
  1. ambivalent
  2. faltering
  3. shaky
  4. waiting
  5. vacillating
  6. wavering
  7. random
  8. aimless
Adjective
  • The time may have passed for the Kremlin to consider the White House ambivalent as to the fate of Europe.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
  • After all, the feature debut of Swiss director and writer Jan-Eric Mack features an ambivalent main character, namely a single mother who doesn’t fit neatly into categories of black or white and good or evil.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 3 July 2026
Definition of ambivalent
Verb
  • Chris Jung | Nurphoto | Getty Images Shares of Nvidia have been faltering recently — and Kalshi traders predict that what the company can charge for chips is also declining.
    — Ananya Chetia, CNBC, 22 June 2026
  • After faltering in last year’s Div.
    — Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 30 May 2026
Definition of faltering
Adjective
  • Though still somewhat shaky, shipping confidence in transiting the vital strait is rising rapidly, leading forecasters to warn of an impending oil glut; Citi predicts prices could fall to as low as $60 a barrel by the end of the year.
    — Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 3 July 2026
  • The Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness programs faced a shaky timeline, characterized by persistent legal roadblocks, which culminated in a 2023 Supreme Court defeat.
    — Paxton Honerkamp, CNBC, 2 July 2026
Definition of shaky
Verb
  • With potentially record-breaking heat coming to Washington, DC on the Fourth of July, people wanting to catch fireworks by saving an early spot on the National Mall will have a lot of waiting to do.
    — Mike Stunson, USA Today, 3 July 2026
  • Alysa Guffey Twenty minutes of remonstrance kicked off, with a long line of people waiting for a chance to speak.
    — Alysa Guffey, IndyStar, 2 July 2026
Definition of waiting
Adjective
  • This is the Alcaraz who is unbeatable, a man who cut out the vacillating streaks in his game that derailed him in Melbourne and Wimbledon.
    — Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Definition of vacillating
Adjective
  • The same engine that nudges one shopper up can hand another a discount to close a wavering sale.
    — Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 10 June 2026
  • He was encouraged by his timing and sensed Miller might be wavering, especially after an errant pickoff throw put the go-ahead run 90 feet away.
    — Katie Woo, New York Times, 20 May 2026
Definition of wavering
Adjective
  • Luka Dončić got traded at midnight on a random Saturday in February.
    — David Aldridge, New York Times, 2 July 2026
  • Pinned to their random assortment of hats were scrawled, handmade signs proclaiming liberty or death.
    — Sarah M.S. Pearsall, The Conversation, 2 July 2026
Definition of random
Adjective
  • Liam, once aimless and unhoused, quickly finds purpose in the charade as a husband and father.
    — Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 17 June 2026
  • The book is structured as a quest to figure out why a class of aimless young men in late-Thatcherist Blighty get their kicks out of getting paralytically drunk and bashing one another half to death every weekend.
    — Leander Schaerlaeckens June 8, Literary Hub, 8 June 2026
Definition of aimless

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Cite this Entry

“Hesitating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hesitating. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on hesitating

Nglish: Translation of hesitating for Spanish Speakers

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