Hesitation — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

indecision in speech or action

a certain degree of unwillingness

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/hˈoʊkəmz/

🇬🇧British English

/hˌɛzɪtˈeɪʃən/

🇮🇳Indian English

/hˌɛzɪtˈeɪʃən/

4 syllables Say it as /hˈoʊkəmz/.

Examples

a reluctance to commit himself
his hesitancy revealed his basic indisposition
after some hesitation he agreed

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

disinclination waver wavering faltering falter hesitancy indisposition vacillation reluctance

Parts of Speech

noun	indecision in speech or action
noun	a certain degree of unwillingness “a reluctance to commit himself”
noun	the act of pausing uncertainly “there was a hesitation in his speech”

Word Forms

hesitate	verb	pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
vacillate	verb	be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action
waver	verb	pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
reluctant	adjective	unwillingness to do something contrary to your custom
hesitant	adjective	lacking decisiveness of character; unable to act or decide quickly or firmly
disincline	verb	make unwilling
indispose	verb	make unwilling
falter	verb	speak haltingly

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Zögern

Unentschlossenheit im Sprechen oder Handeln

🇫🇷French

hésitation

indécision dans le discours ou l'action

🇪🇸Spanish

vacilación

indecisión en el habla o la acción

🇮🇹Italian

esitazione

indecisione nel parlare o nell’agire

🇳🇱Dutch

aarzeling

besluiteloosheid in spreken of handelen

🇵🇹Portuguese

hesitação

indecisão na fala ou ação

🇷🇺Russian

колебание

нерешительность в словах или действиях

India

🇮🇳Hindi

संकोच

वाणी या कार्य में अनिर्णय

🇧🇩Bengali

দ্বিধা

বক্তৃতা বা কর্মে সিদ্ধান্তহীনতা

🇮🇳Tamil

தயக்கம்

பேச்சு அல்லது செயலில் தீர்மானமின்மை

🇮🇳Telugu

సంకోచం

ప్రసంగం లేదా చర్యలో అనిశ్చితి

🇮🇳Marathi

संकोच

भाषण किंवा कृती मध्ये अनिर्णय

🇮🇳Gujarati

ખચકાટ

વાણી અથવા ક્રિયામાં અનિશ્ચિતતા

🇮🇳Kannada

ಹಿಂಜರಿಕೆ

ಮಾತು ಅಥವಾ ಕ್ರಿಯೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಿರ್ಣಯ

🇮🇳Malayalam

മടി

സംസാരത്തിലോ പ്രവൃത്തിയിലോ ഉള്ള തീരുമാനമില്ലായ്മ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਝਿਜਕ

ਬੋਲਣ ਜਾਂ ਕਾਰਵਾਈ ਵਿੱਚ ਅਨਿਸ਼ਚਿਤਤਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

ہچکچاہٹ

تقریر یا عمل میں عدم فیصلہ

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

犹豫

🇯🇵Japanese

ためらい

発言や行動における優柔不断

🇰🇷Korean

주저

말이나 행동에 우유부단함

🇻🇳Vietnamese

do dự

thiếu quyết đoán trong lời nói hoặc hành động

🇹🇭Thai

ความลังเล

ความไม่แน่ใจในการพูดหรือการกระทำ

🇮🇩Indonesian

keraguan

keragu-raguan dalam ucapan atau tindakan

🇵🇭Filipino

pag-aatubili

pag-aalinlangan sa pagsasalita o pagkilos

🇲🇾Malay

teragak-agak

ketidakpastian dalam ucapan atau tindakan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

تردد

التردد في الكلام أو العمل

🇮🇷Persian

تردید

بلاتکلیفی در گفتار یا عمل

🇹🇷Turkish

tereddüt

Konuşma veya eylemde kararsızlık

🇮🇱Hebrew

היסוס

חוסר החלטיות בדיבור או בפעולה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'hesitation'?

The primary meaning of 'hesitation' is 'indecision in speech or action'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'hesitation' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'hesitation' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'hesitation' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'hesitation' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'hesitation' in your daily reading?

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Occasionally

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Do you find 'hesitation' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

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A bit confusing

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In your opinion, does the word 'hesitation' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

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Neutral

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Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'hesitation' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'hesitation' in a professional email?

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Would you classify 'hesitation' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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