Library / English Dictionary

HESITATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness

Example:

Authorities hesitate to quote exact figures

Synonyms:

hesitate; waffle; waver

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

"Hesitate" entails doing...:

doubt (lack confidence in or have doubts about)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "hesitate"):

dwell on; linger over (delay)

boggle (hesitate when confronted with a problem, or when in doubt or fear)

hover; linger (move to and fro)

hover; oscillate; vacillate; vibrate (be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action)

falter; waver (be unsure or weak)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE
Somebody ----s whether INFINITIVE

Derivation:

hesitancy (a certain degree of unwillingness)

hesitant (lacking decisiveness of character; unable to act or decide quickly or firmly)

hesitater (one who hesitates (usually out of fear))

hesitation (a certain degree of unwillingness)

hesitation (indecision in speech or action)

hesitator (one who hesitates (usually out of fear))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing

Example:

The speaker paused

Synonyms:

hesitate; pause

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "hesitate" is one way to...):

delay (act later than planned, scheduled, or required)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "hesitate"):

hem and haw (utter 'hems' and 'haws'; indicated hesitation)

scruple (hesitate on moral grounds)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s whether INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They hesitate a long time

Derivation:

hesitater (one who hesitates (usually out of fear))

hesitation (the act of pausing uncertainly)

Credits

 Context examples: 

He hesitated, stammered, repeated himself, got snarled in a long sentence, and finally turned furiously upon the cause of his troubles.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Several times he was about to speak, and each time he hesitated.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Your argument is complete, and if I were free to speak I should not hesitate a moment; but I am not my own master in the matter.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

He inquired how far Netherfield was from Meryton; and, after receiving her answer, asked in a hesitating manner how long Mr. Darcy had been staying there.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

She would hesitate, she would tease, she would condition, she would require a great deal, but she would finally accept.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

If you prefer Mr. Martin to every other person; if you think him the most agreeable man you have ever been in company with, why should you hesitate?

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

He’d had the quinsy and swollen glands when he was young, he told me, and it had left him with a weak throat, and a hesitating, whispering fashion of speech.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I hesitated long before I put this theory to the test of practice.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

A discovery took place,—here he hesitated and looked down.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

Then he hesitated, drew back, came forward again, and at last, to my wonder and confusion, threw himself on his knees and held out his clasped hands in supplication.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)