hesitate
/ˈhɛz.ɪ.teɪt/US/ˈhɛz.ə.teɪt/
hesitate verb: to stop or pause respecting decision or action; to be in suspense or uncertainty as to a determination.
Verb
hesitate (third-person singular simple present hesitates, present participle hesitating, simple past and past participle hesitated)
- To stop or pause respecting decision or action; to be in suspense or uncertainty as to a determination.
- He hesitated whether to accept the offer or not; men often hesitate in forming a judgment.
- September 1, 1742, Alexander Pope, letter to Racine
I shall not hesitate to declare myself very cordially, in regard to some particulars about which you have desired an answer.
- Synonyms:
- demur
- To stammer; to falter in speaking.
- Synonyms:
- balbucinate, balbutiate, falter, hem, haw, stammer, stutter, stumble
- To utter with hesitation or to intimate by a reluctant manner.
- Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike.a. 1724, Alexander Pope, The Ms. at Longleat
- Synonyms:
- falter
hesitate meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
hesitate in Hindi
- to hesitate, be reluctant
- हिचकिचाना hickicānā
- to hesitate
- झिझकना jhijhaknā, सकुचना sakucnā, सकुचाना sakucānā
hesitate in Tamil
- to stop or pause respecting decision or action
- தயங்கு tayaṅku
- to stammer; to falter in speaking
- திக்கு tikku, குழறு kuḻaṟu
hesitate in Urdu
- ہچکچانا, کن منانا, پاؤں ڈگمگانا, رکنا, تردد کرنا
hesitate in Bengali
- দ্বিধা করা, ইতস্তত করা, থামানো
More languagesFewer languages
- hesitate in Telugu
- జంకు jaṅku, శంకించు śaṅkiñcu
- hesitate in Malayalam
- ഞണുങ്ങുക ñaṇuṅṅuka
- hesitate in Kannada
- ಹಿಂದುಮುಂದು ನೋಡು, ಹಿಂಜರಿ, ಹಿಮ್ಮೆಟ್ಟು, ಶಂಕಿಸು
- hesitate in Gujarati
- અચકાવું ackāvũ
- hesitate in Sanskrit
- शङ्क् śaṅk, शङ्कते śáṅkate
- hesitate in Tagalog
- magdalawang-isip
- hesitate in Arabic
- تَرَدَّدَ taraddada
- hesitate in Indonesian
- ragu
- hesitate in Thai
- ลังเล lang-lee
- hesitate in Vietnamese
- chần chừ, do dự
Examples of hesitate in a sentence
- We appreciate your input, so please don't hesitate to chime in with comments and questions.
- After the wonderful service that evening he didn’t hesitate in laying a substantial perquisite on the table.
- Though they did not know the reason for the dispute, they did not hesitate to leap into the fray.
Synonyms of hesitate
12 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of hesitate
| third-person singular present | hesitates |
|---|---|
| present participle | hesitating |
| past participle | hesitated |
| past | hesitated |
| alternative form (archaic) | hæsitate |
Origin of hesitate
Borrowed from Latin haesitātus, perfect passive participle of haesitō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), intensive of haereō (“to hesitate, stick fast; to hang or hold fast”). Displaced native Old English wandian. Compare French hésiter.
Words formed from hesitate
Questions about hesitate
- What does hesitate mean?
- Hesitate means to stop or pause respecting decision or action; to be in suspense or uncertainty as to a determination.
- What is hesitate in Hindi?
- Hesitate in Hindi is हिचकिचाना (hickicānā), झिझकना (jhijhaknā), सकुचना (sakucnā). See Hesitate meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is hesitate?
- Hesitate is a verb.
- How do you pronounce hesitate?
- Hesitate is pronounced /ˈhɛz.ɪ.teɪt/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of hesitate?
- The past tense of hesitate is hesitated.
Words near hesitate in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: hesitate (page history and authors); झिझकना (Hindi) (page history and authors); hesitate (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Hesitate (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); జంకు (Telugu) (page history and authors); ഞണുങ്ങുക (Malayalam) (page history and authors); hesitate (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); અચકાવું (Gujarati) (page history and authors); शङ्कते (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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