What does hesitate mean?
Definitions for hesitate
ˈhɛz ɪˌteɪthes·i·tate
Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word hesitate.
Princeton's WordNet
hesitate, waver, waffleverb
pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
"Authorities hesitate to quote exact figures"
hesitate, pauseverb
interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing
"The speaker paused"
Wiktionary
hesitateverb
To stop or pause respecting decision or action; to be in suspense or uncertainty as to a determination.
hesitateverb
To stammer; to falter in speaking.
hesitateverb
To utter with hesitation or to intimate by a reluctant manner.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
To HESITATEverb
To be doubtful; to delay; to pause; to make difficulty.
Etymology: hæsito, Latin; hesiter, French.
A spirit of revenge makes him curse the Grecians in the seventh book, when they hesitate to accept Hector’s challenge. William Broome, Notes on the Iliad.
Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike,
Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike;
Alike reserv’d to blame or to commend,
A tim’rous foe, and a suspicious friend. Alexander Pope.
Wikipedia
hesitate
Hesitation or hesitating is the psychological process of pausing in the course of making a decision or taking an action, typically due to uncertainty as to the best course of action. Hesitation is described in both positive and negative terms, with some perceiving it as an indication of thoughtfulness, while others characterize it as a sign of indecisiveness or lack of the will to act. In literature, a period of hesitation on the part of a key character has sometimes been depicted as having substantial consequences.
Webster Dictionary
Hesitateverb
to stop or pause respecting decision or action; to be in suspense or uncertainty as to a determination; as, he hesitated whether to accept the offer or not; men often hesitate in forming a judgment
Hesitateverb
to stammer; to falter in speaking
Hesitateverb
to utter with hesitation or to intimate by a reluctant manner
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Hesitate
hez′i-tāt, v.i. to stop in making a decision: to be in doubt: to stammer.—v.t. (rare) to express with hesitation.—ns. Hes′itancy, Hesitā′tion, wavering: doubt: stammering.—adj. Hes′itan't, hesitating.—adv. Hes′itātingly.—adj. Hes′itātive, showing hesitation.—n. Hes′itātor, one who hesitates.—adj. Hes′itātory, hesitating. [L. hæsitāre, -ātum, freq. of hærēre, hæsum, to stick.]
Matched Categories
British National Corpus
Verbs Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'hesitate' in Verbs Frequency: #678
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of hesitate in Chaldean Numerology is: 1
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of hesitate in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6
Examples of hesitate in a Sentence
We want to make sure that if we deploy the boosters in all of the age ranges, that we truly are making a benefit outweigh any risks, we will not hesitate to drop this age range as we see this benefit outweigh the risk, and because of the EUA authority that we have, we can do that in a relatively quick amount of time.
This was so out of character for our community, these guys didn’t hesitate to kill. They basically murdered both of them.
Even though we are in a good place right now, we are not out of the epidemic. And the government will not hesitate to act quickly if the pandemic again threatens important functions in our society.
I had the choice of going into a massive amount of debt to keep going or change careers, i had started learning software development as a hobby and I really enjoyed it, so I didn't hesitate.
He didn't hesitate, he said it was a great idea.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
Translations for hesitate
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- ترددArabic
- заекна, колебая се, чудя се, заеквам, двоумя сеBulgarian
- hesitarCatalan, Valencian
- zaváhat, váhatCzech
- stamme, hakkeDanish
- zögern, stammelnGerman
- vacilar, dudarSpanish
- دریغPersian
- empiä, epäröidä, viivytellä, vitkastella, aikaillaFinnish
- hésiterFrench
- sòrScottish Gaelic
- संकोचHindi
- raguIndonesian
- 躊躇する, ためらうJapanese
- dubitoLatin
- zéckenLuxembourgish, Letzeburgesch
- tawhitawhiMāori
- aarzelenDutch
- nøleNorwegian
- wahać się, jąkać sięPolish
- hesitarPortuguese
- iskayyayQuechua
- pregeta, șovăi, codi, ezitaRomanian
- запнуться, запинаться, медлить, заикнуться, сомневаться, колебаться, заикатьсяRussian
- tvekaSwedish
- ลังเลThai
- çekinmek, kararsız kalmakTurkish
- вагатисьUkrainian
- 迟疑Chinese
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