What does hesitate mean?

Definitions for hesitate
ˈhɛz ɪˌteɪthes·i·tate

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word hesitate.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. hesitate, waver, waffleverb

    pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness

    "Authorities hesitate to quote exact figures"

  2. hesitate, pauseverb

    interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing

    "The speaker paused"

Wiktionary

  1. hesitateverb

    To stop or pause respecting decision or action; to be in suspense or uncertainty as to a determination.

  2. hesitateverb

    To stammer; to falter in speaking.

  3. hesitateverb

    To utter with hesitation or to intimate by a reluctant manner.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. 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

  1. 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.

ChatGPT

  1. hesitate

    To hesitate is to pause or delay an action due to uncertainty or feeling unsure about a situation. It can also refer to the act of being indecisive or unwilling to make a decision immediately.

Webster Dictionary

  1. 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

  2. Hesitateverb

    to stammer; to falter in speaking

  3. Hesitateverb

    to utter with hesitation or to intimate by a reluctant manner

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. 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

  1. Verbs Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'hesitate' in Verbs Frequency: #678

How to pronounce hesitate?

How to say hesitate in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of hesitate in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of hesitate in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of hesitate in a Sentence

  1. Leona Allen and Elsa Gaule:

    We didn't even hesitate.

  2. Jeremy Farrar:

    We can't predict how the outbreak will progress, and the WHO must keep the situation under frequent review and not hesitate to declare a PHEIC if the situation shows signs of deteriorating.

  3. Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda:

    Japan's underlying price trend isn't deteriorating. But some indicators on inflation expectations have been somewhat weak, we won't hesitate adjusting policy, including easing policy, if necessary to achieve our 2 percent price target.

  4. Richard Neal:

    Anyone who knows me knows I would not hesitate to do the same, as would most career IRS public servants, regardless of any political preference, i take very seriously the duty of career civil servants to act with integrity and perform our duties impartially, even at the risk that someone will make a charge of bias.

  5. The BBC:

    She seemed to hesitate, and it looked as though she didn’t want to come through the border, at first we thought that there could be drug packages, but gradually discovered that it was a human body.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

hesitate#10000#12724#100000

Translations for hesitate

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for hesitate »

Translation

Find a translation for the hesitate definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"hesitate." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/hesitate>.

Discuss these hesitate definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for hesitate? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    To make worse
    A exacerbate
    B excogitate
    C caddie
    D gloat

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for hesitate: