hesitation

[ hez-i-tey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act of hesitating; a delay due to uncertainty of mind or fear:

   His hesitation cost him the championship.

2. a state of doubt or uncertainty.

   Synonyms: vacillation, irresolution, indecision, hesitancy

3. a halting or faltering in speech.

   Synonyms: stammer

Other Words From

• prehes·i·tation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hesitation¹

First recorded in 1615–25, hesitation is from the Latin word haesitātiōn- (stem of haesitātiō ). See hesitate, -ion

Example Sentences

Musk has shown no hesitation, in the private sector, to eliminate jobs he considers superfluous.

From Los Angeles Times

"Is everything alright?" the bartender asked without hesitation, before signalling to the manager.

From BBC

“Money,” he answers, without hesitation.

From BBC

I don’t lack the imagination to conceive of a different world, one in which our grand democratic process isn’t whittled down to a binary choice—but I know that the gulf between what should be reality and what is reality remains vast, and so it is without hesitation that I swallow the acrid pill of pragmatism and hope that enough fellow voters do the same.

From Slate

Though McCoy is hesitant to speculate on the cause for other news organizations’ hesitation, his team was uniquely positioned to pull the trigger quickly, without the corporate or political pressures that might weigh on legacy networks.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• doubt
• equivocation
• hesitancy
• indecision
• misgiving
• mistrust
• pause
• procrastination
• qualm
• reluctance
• skepticism
• unwillingness
• vacillation