Oscillate

//ˈɑsɪleɪt// verb

verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm. intransitive

    "A pendulum oscillates slower as it gets longer."

  2. 2
    move or swing from side to side regularly wordnet
  3. 3
    To vacillate between conflicting opinions, etc. intransitive

    "The mood for change oscillated from day to day."

  4. 4
    be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action wordnet
  5. 5
    To vary above and below a mean value. intransitive

Synonyms

All synonyms
vacillatevacillatealternateback and fillbe here againblow hot and cold

Example

More examples

"A pendulum oscillates slower as it gets longer."

Etymology

First attested in 1726; borrowed from Latin ōscillātus, perfect passive participle of Latin ōscillō (“to swing”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from ōscillum (“a swing”), usually identified with ōscillum (“a little face or mask hung on a tree that sways with the wind”), diminutive of ōs (“mouth, face”). Doublet of osculate.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.