hesitation
/ˌhɛzɪˈteɪʃən/noun
hesitation is spelled H-E-S-I-T-A-T-I-O-N: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 13,897th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, hesitation means “An act of hesitating” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hesitation is hesitations.
How many letters and syllables are in hesitation?
| Letters | 10: H-E-S-I-T-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.5 times per million words; the 13,897th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is hesitation?
Hesitation appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 13,897th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hesitation?
- US /ˌhɛzɪˈteɪʃən/
- Australia /ˌhezɪˈtæɪʃən/
- /ˌhezəˈtæɪʃən/
Hesitation has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-hesitation.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with hesitation?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as hesitation from its last stressed vowel (/eɪʃən/):
- situation
- association
- population
- administration
- operation
- organization
- application
- location
- generation
- foundation
- conversation
- investigation
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of hesitation
- hesitations plural
- hæsitation
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hesitation mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An act of hesitating
- 2
Doubt; vacillation.
She carried out the order without hesitation.
- 3
A faltering in speech; stammering.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hesitation in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Zögern |
| French | hésitation |
| Portuguese | hesitação |
| Spanish | hesitación, titubeo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does hesitation come from?
From Latin haesitātiōnem, accusative singular of haesitātiō (“hesitating, stammering”), from haesitō (“hesitate”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).