VERB | stative | hesitate, waver, waffle | pause or hold back in uncertainty / uncertainty or unwillingness |
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stative | hesitate, pause | interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing |
Sounds | hheh'zahtey.t | |
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Rhymes | abate ... welterweight: 559 rhymes with eyt... |
Meaning | pause or hold back in uncertainty / uncertainty or unwillingness. | |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s; Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE; Somebody ----s whether INFINITIVE | |
Example | "Authorities hesitate to quote exact figures" | |
Synonyms | waver, waffle | |
Entails | doubt | lack confidence in or have doubts about |
Narrower | boggle | hesitate when confronted with a problem, or when in doubt or fear |
dwell on, linger over | delay | |
falter, waver | Be unsure or weak | |
hover, vibrate, vacillate, oscillate | Be undecided about something | |
hover, linger | Move to and fro | |
Spanish | dudar, titubear, vacilar | |
Catalan | dubtar, hesitar, vacil·lar | |
Adjectives | hesitant | lacking decisiveness of character |
Nouns | hesitancy, hesitation | a certain degree of unwillingness |
hesitation | indecision in speech or action | |
hesitator, hesitater | one who hesitates (usually out of fear) |
Meaning | interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing. | |
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Pattern | Somebody ----s; Somebody ----s whether INFINITIVE | |
Model | They hesitate a long time | |
Synonym | pause | |
Narrower | hem and haw | Utter 'hems' and 'haws' |
scruple | hesitate on moral grounds | |
Broader | delay | Act later than planned, scheduled, or required |
Spanish | pausar, vacilar | |
Catalan | dubtar, vacil·lar | |
Nouns | hesitater | one who hesitates (usually out of fear) |
hesitation | the act of pausing uncertainly |
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