Definitions for: Hesitate

[v] pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness; "Authorities hesitate to quote exact figures."
[v] interrupt temporarily an activity before continuing; "The speaker paused"

Webster (1913) Definition: Hes"i*tate, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Hesitated; p. pr. &
vb. n. Hesitating.] [L. haesitatus, p. p. of haesitare,
intens. fr. haerere to hesitate, stick fast; to hang or hold
fast. Cf. Aghast, Gaze, Adhere.]
1. To stop or pause respecting decision or action; to be in
suspense or uncertainty as to a determination; as, he
hesitated whether to accept the offer or not; men often
hesitate in forming a judgment. --Pope.

2. To stammer; to falter in speaking.

Syn: To doubt; waver; scruple; deliberate; demur; falter;
stammer.

Hes"i*tate, v. t.
To utter with hesitation or to intimate by a reluctant
manner. [Poetic & R.]

Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike. --Pope.

Synonyms: pause, waffle, waver

See Also: beat around the bush, boggle, delay, doubt, dwell on, falter, hem and haw, hover, linger, linger over, oscillate, scruple, vacillate, vibrate

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