You're standing in the middle of a grocery aisle. In your left hand, a jar of organic almond butter that costs twelve dollars. In your right, the generic peanut butter that's basically just sugar and oil. You look left. You look right. Five minutes pass. You're doing it. You're vacillating.
People think big words are for ivory tower academics or people who wear elbow patches on their blazers. That's not really true. Knowing how to use vacillate in a sentence is actually about capturing that specific, shaky human feeling of not being able to make up your mind. It’s a rhythmic word. It sounds like what it describes—a pendulum swinging back and forth, never quite hitting the center.
Most people mix it up with "hesitate." They aren't the same thing. Hesitation is a pause. Vacillation is a movement. It's the active, sometimes annoying, process of switching between two opinions or courses of action. If you're pausing before jumping into a cold pool, you're hesitating. If you spend twenty minutes deciding whether to jump or walk down the steps, and you keep changing your mind every thirty seconds, you’ve entered the territory of vacillation.
🔗 Read more: How To Make A Box Cake Mix Taste Like It Came From A Professional Bakery
Why "Vacillate" Hits Different in Writing
When you drop this word into a conversation, it carries weight. It suggests a lack of steadiness. In a professional setting, calling someone's decision-making "vacillating" is a bit of a burn. It implies they're flaky.
Look at how the pros do it. Take a classic example from George Eliot’s Middlemarch. The characters in these high-society 19th-century novels were constantly stuck between social duty and personal desire. They didn't just "worry." They vacillated. It paints a picture of mental exhaustion.
Actually, let's look at a modern, practical application.
"The CEO continued to vacillate between a full office mandate and a permanent remote-work policy, leaving the staff in a state of constant anxiety."
See how that works? It’s not just that he couldn't decide. It’s that he kept moving between two poles. One day it’s A, the next day it’s B. It’s the movement that matters.
The Etymology of the Wobble
To really get how to use vacillate in a sentence, you have to understand where it comes from. The Latin root is vacillare, which literally means to sway or stagger. It’s related to the Sanskrit word for "crooked."
Think of a drunk person trying to walk a straight line. They lean left, they overcorrect, they lean right. They stagger. In a modern sense, we’ve moved that physical staggering into the mind. Your thoughts are staggering. Your loyalties are staggering.
Real-World Examples Across Different Contexts
You can use this word in almost any "serious" arena—politics, romance, finance, or even just your daily habits. Here are a few ways to bake it into your vocabulary naturally.
In Politics and News
Political analysts love this word. It’s a staple of Sunday morning talk shows. "The senator has been known to vacillate on climate policy depending on which donor is in the room." It implies a lack of backbone. It’s a critique of character.
In Your Personal Life
Maybe you're talking to a friend about a bad breakup. "I keep vacillating between missing him and remembering why I blocked his number in the first place." That's relatable. We’ve all been there. It’s the emotional tug-of-war.
👉 See also: White and blonde highlights: Why your stylist keeps saying no (and how to get them anyway)
In the Business World
"The market continues to vacillate as investors wait for the Fed's next move on interest rates." In this case, it’s not about a person, but a system. The prices are swinging up and down. They aren't stable.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Don't use it for a one-time choice. If I ask you if you want pizza or tacos and you take a second to think, you aren't vacillating. You're just thinking. To use vacillate in a sentence correctly, there needs to be a sense of repeated change.
Also, watch out for the "between/among" trap. Usually, you vacillate between two things.
- Wrong: He vacillated his opinion. (It’s an intransitive verb; you don't "vacillate" an object.)
- Right: He vacillated in his opinion.
- Right: His opinion vacillated.
The Nuance of Tone
Is "vacillate" a negative word? Mostly, yeah.
If you describe a leader as "decisive," that's a compliment. If you describe them as "vacillating," you're saying they're weak. However, in a poetic or introspective sense, it can be neutral. It can just describe the complexity of the human experience.
Consider this: "The light of the afternoon sun vacillated across the ripples of the lake."
Wait. That's actually wrong.
Actually, for light or physical movement like that, you’d usually use "oscillate" or "flicker." Vacillate is almost always reserved for minds, opinions, or states of being. If a physical object is "vacillating," it usually means it’s unsteady in a way that suggests it might fall. A ladder might vacillate. A person's resolve might vacillate.
Vacillate vs. Oscillate vs. Waver
These three are cousins. They hang out at the same parties, but they do different things.
Oscillate is technical. Fans oscillate. Pendulums oscillate. It’s a regular, rhythmic movement. If your mood oscillates, it goes from high to low on a predictable schedule.
Waver is closer to vacillate, but it’s often about strength. A flame wavers. A voice wavers when someone is about to cry. To waver is to become unsteady or lose confidence.
Vacillate is the most "mental" of the three. It’s about the indecision.
Sentence Starters to Get You Moving
If you’re trying to spice up your writing, try these structures. Just swap out the context to fit whatever you’re working on.
- The "Despite" Opener: Despite months of research, the committee continues to vacillate on the final location for the new stadium.
- The "Internal Struggle" Hook: I find myself vacillating between the desire for total freedom and the need for a steady paycheck.
- The "Historical" Note: Historians often note how the king would vacillate when faced with direct conflict, often leading to disastrous delays.
- The "Financial" Angle: Don't vacillate when the stock hits your target price; execute the trade or you'll regret the missed window.
How to Internalize the Word
The best way to learn a word isn't by staring at a flashcard. It’s by spotting it in the wild. Start looking for it in The New Yorker, The Economist, or long-form essays. You’ll see that writers use it to add a layer of sophistication to their descriptions of conflict.
Honestly, the word has a bit of a "haughty" reputation, but it doesn't have to be. Use it when "can't decide" feels too thin. Use it when the situation involves a back-and-forth struggle.
If you’re writing a novel, use it to show a character’s internal weakness. A hero shouldn't vacillate too much—unless their indecision is the whole point of the story (looking at you, Hamlet).
Practice Makes Permanent
Try this: think of a choice you're currently stuck on. Maybe it's what to have for dinner or whether to quit your job.
Now, write a sentence using the word.
"I vacillate every morning between hitting the gym and hitting the snooze button."
📖 Related: Dunkin’ Munchkins: Why the World’s Favorite Donut Hole Still Wins
Simple. Effective. Accurate.
Actionable Steps for Mastering New Vocabulary
To truly make "vacillate" part of your lexicon, stop overthinking it. Use it in a low-stakes email today. See if anyone notices.
- Audit your current writing: Look for overused words like "changed" or "waited." Could "vacillated" provide more specific imagery?
- Check the context: Ensure there are two or more options the subject is moving between.
- Read it aloud: Does the sentence flow? The word "vacillate" has a lyrical quality (va-ci-llate). Make sure the rest of the sentence doesn't sound too clunky around it.
- Avoid over-automation: Don't force it into every piece of writing. Use it like a strong spice—a little goes a long way.
The next time you find yourself stuck between two choices, don't just sit there. Recognize the movement of your mind. You're vacillating. Now you have a word for it.