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hesitate

verb
hes·​i·​tate | \ ˈhe-zə-ˌtāt How to pronounce hesitate (audio) \
hesitated; hesitating

Definition of hesitate

intransitive verb

1 : to hold back in doubt or indecision She didn't hesitate when they offered her the job.
2 : to delay momentarily : pause He hesitated and waited for her to say something.
3 : stammer

transitive verb

: to hold back from (doing or saying something) in doubt or uncertainty Don't hesitate to call if you need something.
Other Words from hesitate Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about hesitate

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Other Words from hesitate

hesitater noun
hesitatingly \ ˈhe-​zə-​ˌtā-​tiŋ-​lē How to pronounce hesitatingly (audio) \ adverb

Choose the Right Synonym for hesitate

hesitate, waver, vacillate, falter mean to show irresolution or uncertainty. hesitate implies a pause before deciding or acting or choosing. hesitated before answering the question waver implies hesitation after seeming to decide and so connotes weakness or a retreat. wavered in his support of the rebels vacillate implies prolonged hesitation from inability to reach a firm decision. vacillated until events were out of control falter implies a wavering or stumbling and often connotes nervousness, lack of courage, or outright fear. never once faltered during her testimony

Examples of hesitate in a Sentence

She hesitated and waited for her friend to say something. He hesitated about accepting the job. I sometimes hesitate to say what I am really thinking. I hesitated to come without being asked. I wouldn't hesitate to ask for your help if I felt I needed it. Don't hesitate to call if there is a problem.
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Recent Examples on the Web

 Su also hesitated when asked whether AMD would bring back CrossFire, AMD’s answer to the multi-GPU trends of a few years ago. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "AMD: Next-gen Threadripper is coming, next-gen CrossFire probably isn't," 19 Aug. 2019 Still, one of his colleagues, Lo Man-tuen, said that local Fujianese would not hesitate to defend themselves if provoked. — New York Times, "Hong Kong Convulsed by Protest as Police Fire Tear Gas Into Subway," 11 Aug. 2019 Still, one of his colleagues, Lo Man-tuen, said that local Fujianese would not hesitate to defend themselves if provoked. — Mike Ives, BostonGlobe.com, "Hong Kong convulsed by protest as police fire tear gas into subway," 11 Aug. 2019 If the United States were to visibly distance itself from the Saudis, the Iranians would not hesitate to step up their attacks. — Mike Watson, National Review, "Why the Middle East Policies Favored by Sanders and Warren Would Be Counterproductive," 30 July 2019 Brian Crichton didn’t hesitate when asked to recall his favorite motorsports memory. — Josh Bean | Jbean@al.com, al, "'Big shoes to fill’: Meet Talladega Superspeedway’s new boss," 27 July 2019 Iran's naval commander has warned that Iranian forces would not hesitate to act again and shoot down more U.S. surveillance drones that violate Iranian airspace. — Deb Riechmann And Kevin Freking, chicagotribune.com, "Stepping back from military strikes, Trump hits Iran’s supreme leader with new sanctions," 24 June 2019 Catherine Mac Dowall wouldn’t hesitate to call her view of the world or even her restaurant, naïve. — Maggie Menderski, The Courier-Journal, "Eat vegan? Gluten free? This Butchertown restaurant feeds every diet," 7 June 2018 Seeing a wide gap in the middle of the pitch, Ruan cut inside, hesitating and then driving hard into open space while Tesho Akindele slipped his defender with a back door cut into the box. — Julia Poe, Pro Soccer USA, "Orlando City attack roars, Lions net 2-0 home win over FC Dallas," 5 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hesitate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of hesitate

1598, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

History and Etymology for hesitate

Latin haesitatus, past participle of haesitare to stick fast, hesitate, frequentative of haerēre to stick

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More Definitions for hesitate

hesitate

verb
How to pronounce hesitate (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of hesitate

: to stop briefly before you do something especially because you are nervous or unsure about what to do
: to be unwilling to do something because of doubt or uncertainty

See the full definition for hesitate in the English Language Learners Dictionary

hesitate

verb
hes·​i·​tate | \ ˈhe-zə-ˌtāt How to pronounce hesitate (audio) \
hesitated; hesitating

Kids Definition of hesitate

1 : to pause before doing something He hesitated before crossing the stream.
2 : to be unwilling to do something because of doubt or nervousness Don't hesitate to ask for help.

Other Words from hesitate

hesitation \ ˌhez-​ə-​ˈtā-​shən \ noun

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More from Merriam-Webster on hesitate

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with hesitate

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for hesitate

Spanish Central: Translation of hesitate

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