Meaning of "hesitate" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD HESITATE

From Latin haesitāre, from haerēre to cling to.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF HESITATE

hesitate  [ˈhɛzɪˌteɪt]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF HESITATE

Hesitate is a verb.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb hesitate in English.

WHAT DOES HESITATE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Hesitate

"Hesitate" is the third single from Stone Sour's third album Audio Secrecy. The 1 track Promo single for the song, released strictly to radio in 2010. CD comes in a thin paper sleeve with no artwork.

Definition of hesitate in the English dictionary

The first definition of hesitate in the dictionary is to hold back or be slow in acting; be uncertain. Other definition of hesitate is to be unwilling or reluctant. Hesitate is also to stammer or pause in speaking.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO HESITATE

PRESENT

Present

I hesitate

you hesitate

he/she/it hesitates

we hesitate

you hesitate

they hesitate

Present continuous

I am hesitating

you are hesitating

he/she/it is hesitating

we are hesitating

you are hesitating

they are hesitating

Present perfect

I have hesitated

you have hesitated

he/she/it has hesitated

we have hesitated

you have hesitated

they have hesitated

Present perfect continuous

I have been hesitating

you have been hesitating

he/she/it has been hesitating

we have been hesitating

you have been hesitating

they have been hesitating

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I hesitated

you hesitated

he/she/it hesitated

we hesitated

you hesitated

they hesitated

Past continuous

I was hesitating

you were hesitating

he/she/it was hesitating

we were hesitating

you were hesitating

they were hesitating

Past perfect

I had hesitated

you had hesitated

he/she/it had hesitated

we had hesitated

you had hesitated

they had hesitated

Past perfect continuous

I had been hesitating

you had been hesitating

he/she/it had been hesitating

we had been hesitating

you had been hesitating

they had been hesitating

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will hesitate

you will hesitate

he/she/it will hesitate

we will hesitate

you will hesitate

they will hesitate

Future continuous

I will be hesitating

you will be hesitating

he/she/it will be hesitating

we will be hesitating

you will be hesitating

they will be hesitating

Future perfect

I will have hesitated

you will have hesitated

he/she/it will have hesitated

we will have hesitated

you will have hesitated

they will have hesitated

Future perfect continuous

I will have been hesitating

you will have been hesitating

he/she/it will have been hesitating

we will have been hesitating

you will have been hesitating

they will have been hesitating

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would hesitate

you would hesitate

he/she/it would hesitate

we would hesitate

you would hesitate

they would hesitate

Conditional continuous

I would be hesitating

you would be hesitating

he/she/it would be hesitating

we would be hesitating

you would be hesitating

they would be hesitating

Conditional perfect

I would have hesitate

you would have hesitate

he/she/it would have hesitate

we would have hesitate

you would have hesitate

they would have hesitate

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been hesitating

you would have been hesitating

he/she/it would have been hesitating

we would have been hesitating

you would have been hesitating

they would have been hesitating

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you hesitate
we let´s hesitate
you hesitate

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to hesitate

Past participle

hesitated

Present Participle

hesitating

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «HESITATE»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «hesitate» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of hesitate

boggle · delay · demur · dither · doubt · equivocate · falter · fumble · hang back · haver · hum and haw · pause · scruple · shillyshally · stammer · stumble · stutter · swither · temporize · think twice · vacillate · wait · waver

TRANSLATION OF HESITATE

Find out the translation of hesitate to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of hesitate from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «hesitate» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 犹豫
• Translator English - Spanish: vacilar
• English: hesitate
• Translator English - Hindi: संकोच
• Translator English - Arabic: يَتَرَدَّدُ
• Translator English - Russian: колебаться
• Translator English - Portuguese: hesitar
• Translator English - Bengali: দ্বিধা করা
• Translator English - French: hésiter
• Translator English - Malay: Teragak-agak
• Translator English - German: zögern
• Translator English - Japanese: ためらう
• Translator English - Korean: 주저하다
• Translator English - Javanese: Ragu-ragu
• Translator English - Vietnamese: do dự
• Translator English - Tamil: தயங்க
• Translator English - Marathi: संकोच
• Translator English - Turkish: tereddüt
• Translator English - Italian: esitare
• Translator English - Polish: zawahać się
• Translator English - Ukrainian: вагатися
• Translator English - Romanian: a ezita
• Translator English - Greek: διστάζω
• Translator English - Afrikaans: huiwer om
• Translator English - Swedish: tveka
• Translator English - Norwegian: nøle

10 QUOTES WITH «HESITATE»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word hesitate.

1

Gbenga Akinnagbe

Don't hesitate or talk about what you want to do. Just do it.

2

Marian Anderson

There are many persons ready to do what is right because in their hearts they know it is right. But they hesitate, waiting for the other fellow to make the make the first move - and he, in turn, waits for you.

3

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Most people talk; we do things. They plan; we achieve. They hesitate; we move ahead. We are living proof that when human beings have the courage and commitment to transform a dream into reality, there is nothing that can stop them.

4

William Banting

I am now in that happy comfortable state that I do not hesitate to indulge in any fancy in regard to diet, but watch the consequences, and do not continue any course which adds to weight or bulk and consequent discomfort.

5

Jose Bergamin

You can hesitate before deciding, but not once the decision is made.

6

Stephen J. Cannell

I really hesitate to say that any of my shows influenced other writers.

7

Carl von Clausewitz

It is even better to act quickly and err than to hesitate until the time of action is past.

8

Sidney Crosby

The more you hesitate in a game, the more your chance of getting hit. Your focus isn't there. When you hesitate, usually you're in trouble.

9

David Eddings

I hesitate to predict whether this theory is true. But if the general opinion of Mankind is optimistic then we're in for a period of extreme popularity for science fiction.

10

Joseph Epstein

By the way, the secret of speaking French is confidence. Whether you are right or wrong, you don't hesitate.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «HESITATE»

Discover the use of hesitate in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to hesitate and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Anglo-American Telegraphic Code to Cheapen Telegraphy and to ...

.Will be here Sunday . . . .Will be here Monday . . . .Will be here Tuesday . . . .Will be here Wednesday . . . .Will be here Thursday . . . . Will be here Friday . . . . Will be here Saturday . . . .Will not be here Hesitate. . . . .Did not hesitate (to) .

‎1891

The Gertrude Stein Reader: The Great American Pioneer of ...

She does not hesitate and if she did hesitate she would not hesitate to leave nor would she hesitate to come. She would not hesitate either to leave nor to come. Third religion Come then. Fourth religion To come then. Fourth religion She did ...

Gertrude Stein, Richard Kostelanetz, 2002

Prepositions and Complement Clauses: A Syntactic and ...

As far as distributional overlap with other patterns is concerned, verbs of the class may sometimes also be found with one or two other prepositions: for instance, about and over seem possible with hesitate, as in John hesitated about/over ...

Martti Juhani Rudanko, 1996

English Synonymes: With Copious Illustrations and ...

actorawperiour; we hesitate in giving our consent- when a proposition appears to be unjust we demur iii supporting it on the ground of its Injustice; 'In order to banish an evil out of the world that does not only produce great uneasiness to ...

George Crabb, 1837

Din Din Book of No-nonsense Poetry#1

Don't hesitate. Take the time to create Don't hesitate. Be the first one out of the gate Don't hesitate or you might find yourself late Don't hesitate. You don't have to wait The best thing you can do is to have a course of action That is the best way ...

Diane Sytarchuk-Kent

The Southern Reporter

our opinion, both these instructions are faulty definitions of a reasonable doubt, and were properly refused. A doubt which would cause a reasonable and prudent man to hesitate before accepting a given proposition as not true is not ...

‎1897

A Treatise on Instructions to Juries in Civil and Criminal ...

Defining as a doubt which would cause a reasonable man to pause and hesitate in the graver transactions of life. _In a number of cases, reasonable doubt has been defined as “one arising from a candid and impartial investigation of all the ...

De Witt Clinton Blashfield, 1902

Having Hard Conversations

2. Why. We. Hesitate. Having. Hard. Conversations. You cannot plough afield by turning it over in your mind. —Author unknown ... that could happen?” our job, and we would really like just to keep 7 Why We Hesitate Having Hard Conversations.

Jennifer Abrams, 2009

Tears

Jacques Derrida Voice In the wake of Finnegan, I hesitate to beginegan. I hesitate ... (in order) to begin. After "Joyce and the End of History," I hesitate to begin. After all, after "all in all," I hesitate to begin.1 I hesitate to begin by voicing a  ...

Mark C. Taylor, 1990

Using German Synonyms

... ein Esszimmer, drei Schlafzimmer und ein Badezimmer. zogern. fackeln (Rl) [ used most often with nicht lange] hesitate, dither schwanken waver, vacillate, dither (sich) unschlüssig sein be undecided, waver zaudern (R3) hesitate ...

Martin Durrell, 2000

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «HESITATE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term hesitate is used in the context of the following news items.

Kenyan 'Gay' Students Sent Home From School For Alleged …

“When the president travels around the world, he does not hesitate to raise concerns about human rights,” White House Press Secretary Josh ... «International Business Times, Jul 15»

Canton native aiming for world chain-reaction record

Zeal Credit Union Vice President Lisa Fawcett said the company didn't hesitate to become involved after hearing about the Incredible Science ... «Detroit Free Press, Jul 15»

Sorry, Wozniacki: J.J. Watt only has eyes for Aniston | New York Post

Watt didn't hesitate, bringing up his self-described “lifelong goal” of meeting the 46-year-old actress, whom he's mentioned frequently on his ... «New York Post, Jul 15»

U-M's Nike contract worth $169M | Norwalk Reflector

Michigan interim athletic director Jim Hackett didn't hesitate when asked whether U-M's Nike contract was the largest in the nation. «Norwalk Reflector, Jul 15»

Food Network, 'Top Chef' stars join MacMillan at lunches

Not only educational, the events are entertaining, as the chefs are also friends and don't hesitate to heckle or share insider stories about their ... «azcentral.com, Jul 15»

Michael Douglas: 'I have a big d–k' | Page Six

Michael Douglas didn't hesitate when George Wayne — known for his impertinent interviews in Vanity Fair — asked about his key to ... «Page Six, Jul 15»

Caution Urged in Work Zones as 2nd Highway Worker Killed in 6 …

The Marathon County Highway Department said they don't hesitate to report bad driving in construction areas. "We train all our employees that ... «WSAW, Jul 15»

Govt will not hesitate to take strict actions against litterbugs

PUTRAJAYA: The government will not hesitate to come down hard on litterbugs whose actions have cost the authorities millions of ringgit to ... «New Straits Times Online, Jul 15»

Officials: Don't hesitate to report child abuse

Officials say if you suspect child abuse, don't hesitate to report it. They say not every call leads to an investigation, instead, it may be a gateway ... «WHAG, Jul 15»

6 Things A True Friend Will Never Hesitate To Say To You

Which aside from laughter, are the most necessary ingredients for a thriving relationship. So here are six things a true friend would never hesitate to say to you: ... «Bustle, Jul 15»