oscillate
Americanverb (used without object)
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to swing or move to and fro, as a pendulum does.
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to vary or vacillate between differing beliefs, opinions, conditions, etc..
He oscillates regularly between elation and despair.
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Physics. to have, produce, or generate oscillations.
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Mathematics. (of a function, sequence, etc.) to tend to no limit, including infinity.
The sequence 0, 1, 0, 1, … oscillates.
verb (used with object)
verb
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(intr) to move or swing from side to side regularly
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(intr) to waver between opinions, courses of action, etc
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physics to undergo or produce or cause to undergo or produce oscillation
Related Words
See swing 1.
Other Word Forms
- interoscillate verb
- unoscillating adjective
Etymology
Origin of oscillate
1720–30; < Latin oscillātus (past participle of oscillāre “to swing, ride on a swing”), equivalent to oscill(um) “a swing” + -ātus -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
No team in English soccer oscillates faster between a romp to certain glory and imminent collapse than Arsenal.
As the next round of talks approaches, the public oscillates between faint hopes for diplomacy and an acute awareness that events far beyond their control may reshape their future overnight.
From BBC
Like many recent theater school grads, Dela Cruz was still trying to find his niche as a performer, oscillating between the pursuits of ethnic ambiguity — a casting asset — and cultural identity.
From Los Angeles Times
“It’s been kind of a sideways-driven market that is continuing to oscillate between good economic data and bad jobs data.”
From MarketWatch
The Korean won has oscillated between a sharp appreciation in the first half of last year and then a deep depreciation in the second.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
