小词详解 | vacillate
vacillate 英 [ˈvæsəleɪt] 美 [ˈvæsəleɪt]
GRE
外刊例句
Mr Trump has been known to vacillate over great swathes of policy, but on trade he has been consistent in his belief that America gets a bad deal.
特朗普在许多政策上摇摆不定已经出了名，但就贸易而言，他一直坚持美国吃了亏。
——《经济学人》And Mr. Trump has vacillated about what his first policy priorities will be — shifting from health care to tax cuts and back to health care — which has most likely made it difficult to plot a travel schedule that would give him a strategic advantage.
而特朗普在自己的第一批政策重点是什么上犹豫不决——从医疗保健改为减税，再回到医疗保健——这极有可能让他很难制定出一个能给他带来战略优势的出行日程。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[verb] alternate or waver between different opinions or actions; be indecisive
[动词] 在不同的意见或行动之间交替或摇摆；犹豫不决
深入解读
Vacillate 一词源自拉丁语 vacillare （来回摆动；犹豫）的过去分词 vacillatus ，16世纪末进入英语后也是用来表示因缺乏平衡而不稳定地“摇摆、波动、震荡”，比如：
地震使这座用回收的废旧材料建成的房屋摇来晃去。
The earthquake caused the house built using salvaged materials to vacillate.
等到了17世纪20年代后， vacillate 开始发展出现在的主要含义指观点或立场的“摇摆、动摇、犹豫、踌躇”，常意味着因无法作出固定不变的或最终的决定而导致长时间的犹豫，诸如在不同的意见、选择或效忠对象之间来回摇摆或不停转变，比如：
哎哟，别再犹豫了，打定主意吧！做生意不能感情用事。
Oh, do stop vacillating and make up your mind. There is no room for sentiment in business.这位情绪无常的女演员一会儿还和蔼可亲，可一转眼就火冒三丈。她时而心怀希望，时而感到绝望。
The volatile actress was affable at one moment, choleric the next. Her mood vacillated between hope and despair.
权威用例
在庆祝香港回归祖国20周年大会上，我曾经讲过，中央贯彻“一国两制”方针坚持两点，一是坚定不移，确保不会变、不动摇；二是全面准确，确保不走样、不变形。
At the meeting celebrating the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland in 2017, I stated that the central government, in implementing the principle of "one country, two systems," will maintain two key points: first, the central government will remain resolute in implementing the principle, and will not change or vacillate in this stand; and second, the principle will be implemented as what it is originally intended precisely.
出自习主席在庆祝香港回归祖国25周年大会暨香港特别行政区第六届政府就职典礼上的讲话。
同近义词
teeter: be unable to decide between different courses; waver
oscillate: waver between extremes of opinion, action, or quality
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