vacillate
/ˈvæ.sə.leɪt/
"vacillate" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“vacillate” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To sway unsteadily from one side to the other; oscillate.
Corpus desk
Index EN-vacillate · vacillate · English
vacillate · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "V" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | vacillate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈvæ.sə.leɪt/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “vacillate” in English
Rare enough to double-check
vacillate is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈvæ.sə.leɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
vacillate doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin vacillātum, supine form of vacillō (“sway, waver”). The correct English form is vacillate, spelled V-A-C-I-L-L-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To sway unsteadily from one side to the other; oscillate.
- 2To swing indecisively from one course of action or opinion to another.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how vacillate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Its [the barometer's] normal register in the Paumotus [the Tuamotus] was 29.90, and it was quite customary to see it vacillate between 29.85 and 30.00, or even 30.05; […]
Courageous, patriotic, yet vacillating, many of the noblest principles and the purest intentions, men of large possessions and ancient names, under the afflicting circumstances of the times, failed to render service to their unhappy country, but involved themselves in irremediable ruin.
Etymology
From Latin vacillātum, supine form of vacillō (“sway, waver”).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.