vacillators
Those who waver
Vacillators are people who waver between options or opinions, unable to commit to a decision.
The word carries mild criticism—vacillators lack the resolve to choose a path and stick with it: The committee was full of vacillators who couldn't agree on anything.
See vacillate.
People refusing to choose
- ditherersThose who hesitate endlessly
- wafflersIndecisive people
- equivocatorsDeliberately unclear speakers
- doubtersPeople who question claims
hesitators · second-guessers · procrastinators · deliberators · undecideds · waverers · flip-floppers · oscillators
Showing unsteady resolve
- teeteringUnstably balanced, nearly falling
- swayingRhythmic lateral movement
- seesawingFluctuating between two states
- rockingOscillating on curved base
tottering · wobbling · faltering · hovering · fluctuating · balancing · unsteady · back-and-forth
Conflicting emotions coexisting
- indecisionFailure to decide
- doubtLack of firm belief
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
- irresolutionLack of firm decision
tentativeness · hesitancy · reluctance · apprehension · misgiving · qualm · scruple · reservation
Repeatedly reversing one's stance
- wafflingEvasive, indecisive speech
- ditheringProlonged indecisive hesitation
- equivocationAmbiguous language avoiding commitment
- shilly-shallyingProlonged indecisive behavior
backtracking · tergiversation · fence-sitting · hemming and hawing · back-and-forth · reversal · inconsistency · fickleness
fence-sitters
People refusing to choose
- ditherersThose who hesitate endlessly
- wafflersIndecisive people
- equivocatorsDeliberately unclear speakers
doubters · hesitators · second-guessers · procrastinators · deliberators · undecideds · waverers · flip-floppers · oscillators · pendulums
wavering
Showing unsteady resolve
- teeteringUnstably balanced, nearly falling
- swayingRhythmic lateral movement
- seesawingFluctuating between two states
rocking · tottering · wobbling · faltering · hovering · fluctuating · balancing · unsteady · back-and-forth · yo-yoing
ambivalence
Conflicting emotions coexisting
- indecisionFailure to decide
- doubtLack of firm belief
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
irresolution · tentativeness · hesitancy · reluctance · apprehension · misgiving · qualm · scruple · reservation · self-doubt
flip-flopping
Repeatedly reversing one's stance
- wafflingEvasive, indecisive speech
- ditheringProlonged indecisive hesitation
- equivocationAmbiguous language avoiding commitment
shilly-shallying · backtracking · tergiversation · fence-sitting · hemming and hawing · back-and-forth · reversal · inconsistency · fickleness · capriciousness
vacillatorstrue believers
Unwavering adherents to doctrine
stalwarts · diehards · loyalists · hardliners · dogmatists