hesitate
verb/ˈhezɪteɪt/
/ˈhezɪteɪt/
Verb Forms
Idioms | present simple I / you / we / they hesitate | /ˈhezɪteɪt/ /ˈhezɪteɪt/ |
| he / she / it hesitates | /ˈhezɪteɪts/ /ˈhezɪteɪts/ |
| past simple hesitated | /ˈhezɪteɪtɪd/ /ˈhezɪteɪtɪd/ |
| past participle hesitated | /ˈhezɪteɪtɪd/ /ˈhezɪteɪtɪd/ |
| -ing form hesitating | /ˈhezɪteɪtɪŋ/ /ˈhezɪteɪtɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to be slow to speak or act because you feel uncertain or nervous
- She hesitated before replying.
- He seemed to hesitate a second.
- hesitate about/over something When she hesitated over her order, the waiter gave her an impatient look.
- hesitate about/over doing something I didn't hesitate for a moment about taking the job.
- hesitate about/over whether, how, etc… She stood there, hesitating over whether or not to tell him the truth.
- + speech ‘I'm not sure,’ she hesitated.
Extra Examples- Something about his smile made her hesitate.
- I barely hesitated before saying yes.
- I didn't hesitate about working with Craig.
- He was hesitating between the noodles and the salad.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- a little
- slightly
- briefly
- …
- appear to
- seem to
- make somebody
- …
- about
- between
- over
- …
- [intransitive] hesitate to do something to be worried about doing something, especially because you are not sure that it is right or appropriate
- Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries.
- If you'd like me to send you the book, then please don't hesitate to ask.
- She never hesitated to speak her mind.
More Like This Verbs usually followed by infinitivesVerbs usually followed by infinitives
Word Originearly 17th cent.: from Latin haesitat- ‘stuck fast, left undecided’, from the verb haesitare, from haerere ‘stick, stay’.
Idioms
See hesitate in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee hesitate in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishhe who hesitates (is lost)
- (saying) if you delay in doing something you may lose a good opportunity
Check pronunciation:
hesitate