Link Centre Dictionary

hesitation

he·si·ta·tion

UK/ˌhezəˈtæɪʃən/ US/ˌhɛzɪˈteɪʃən/ fairly common

noun

2.

a certain degree of unwillingness

  • “a reluctance to commit himself”
  • “his hesitancy revealed his basic indisposition”
  • “after some hesitation he agreed”
3.

the act of pausing uncertainly

  • “there was a hesitation in his speech”

Origin

From Latin haesitātiōnem, accusative singular of haesitātiō (“hesitating, stammering”), from haesitō (“hesitate”).

Phrases

  • hesitation form
  • hesitation mark
  • hesitation marker
  • hesitation wound

Related words

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.