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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “vacillate”

“vacillate” is pronounced /ˈvæsəˌleɪt/ (VA-suh-layt) in American English and /vasɪleɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “væ”.
The sound

Say “vacillate” in 3 beats

Say it like this

vacillate

/ˈvæsəˌleɪt/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /vasɪleɪt/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

3 beats
  1. vævæstress
  2. səsə
  3. leɪtleɪt
IPA (American)
/ˈvæsəˌleɪt/
IPA (British)
/vasɪleɪt/
Respelling
VA-suh-layt
Syllables
3 — VÆ-sə-leɪt
Stress
Stress the first syllable: VÆ-sə-leɪt. “væ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
verb
Difficulty
Legend — spelling and sound part company here
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈvæsəˌleɪt/

British

/vasɪleɪt/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “vacillate” means

  1. verb

    be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action

    “He oscillates between accepting the new position and retirement”

  2. verb

    move or sway in a rising and falling or wavelike pattern

    “the line on the monitor vacillated”

Say it in a sentence

“Do not vacillate; the ferry leaves in ten minutes.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them
vvæshort assəschwalleɪlong att

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“vacillate”, answered

How do you pronounce “vacillate”?

“vacillate” is pronounced /ˈvæsəˌleɪt/ (VA-suh-layt) in American English and /vasɪleɪt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “væ”. Build it as VÆ-sə-leɪt, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “vacillate” have?

3: væ · sə · leɪt. The beat lands on the first, “væ”.

Is “vacillate” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈvæsəˌleɪt/ (VA-suh-layt); British English says /vasɪleɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “vacillate” mean?

As a verb: be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action For example: “He oscillates between accepting the new position and retirement” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “vacillate”?

Stress the first syllable: VÆ-sə-leɪt. “væ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “vacillate” and see every sound

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