ˈhezəˌtāt sometimes ˈhezˌtāt or ˈhesə̇ˌtāt, usu -ād.+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin haesitatus, past part of haesitare to stick fast, stammer, hesitate, from the stem of haerēre to stick; akin to Lithuanian gaĩšti to loiter, delay
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to hold back in doubt or indecision : avoid facing a decision, encounter, or problem
the government hesitated before each policy
b. : to hold back from or as if from scruple
hesitate at treason
2. : to delay usually momentarily : pause
a glimpse of a deer as it hesitated before disappearing into the underbrush
3. : stammer
transitive verb
: to express in a hesitant manner
choose rather to hesitate my opinion than to assert it roundly — J.R.Lowell
Synonyms:
hesitate , waver , vacillate , and falter agree in meaning to show irresolution or uncertainty. hesitate implies a pause or other sign of indecision before acting
no properly qualified student should hesitate to apply — Official Register of Harvard University
the young second officer hesitated to break the established rule of every ship's discipline — Joseph Conrad
she hesitated a minute and then she said, ‘Yes.’ — Dorothy Baker
waver implies hesitation after having seemed to decide and usually suggests weakness or retreat from a decision
the great man, who never wavered in his faith — H.S.Canby
he was a good student and possessed an un wavering will — Nora Waln
Henry was in the grip of his own master-passion and he did not waver — Francis Hackett
vacillate implies prolonged hesitation from inability to reach a decision
the … government has been vacillating in its policies on such emigration — Collier's Year Book
I have vacillated when I should have insisted; temporized when I should have taken definite action — Ngaio Marsh
falter suggests a hesitation or wavering evident in some physical sign of nervousness, lack of courage, or outright fear, as an uncertainty or breaking of the voice
kept the bright excited look upon her face without faltering — F. Tennyson Jesse
his steps perceptibly falter — Times Literary Supplement
his eyes did not flinch and his tongue did not falter — Joseph Conrad