oscillate

O1S1C3I1L1L1A1T1E1
US/ˈɑsɪleɪt/

verb

To swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm.

“A pendulum oscillates slower as it gets longer.”

Similar
vacillatehovervibrate
OriginLatin ōscillātus →
UncommonScrabble 11
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Word of the Day · Mar 14, 2026

Meanings

verboscillate (third-person singular simple present oscillates, present participle oscillating, simple past and past participle oscillated)

present singular third person oscillates · participle present oscillating · participle past oscillated · past oscillated

  1. intransitiveTo swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm.

    A pendulum oscillates slower as it gets longer.

    1 more example

    By placing the 0.02μF capacitor on top of the whistle chip, the circuit oscillates at a lower frequency.

    2021 December 28, “Snap Circuits Classic”, in Snap Circuits, Elenco, page 27
  2. intransitiveTo vacillate between conflicting opinions, etc.

    The mood for change oscillated from day to day.

  3. intransitiveTo vary above and below a mean value.

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
vacillate

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

Similar
hovervibratevacillate
Broader
hesitatewaverwaffle

verbmove or swing from side to side regularly

Similar
vibrate
Broader
swingsway
Also see
hovervacillatevibrate

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinōscillō“to swing”
  2. Latinōscillātus
  3. Englishoscillate

First attested in 1726; borrowed from Latin ōscillātus, perfect passive participle of Latin ōscillō (“to swing”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from ōscillum (“a swing”), usually identified with ōscillum (“a little face or mask hung on a tree that sways with the wind”), diminutive of ōs (“mouth, face”). See also osculate.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian вибрирам, осцилирам
  • вибрирам (vibriram)to swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
  • осцилирам (osciliram)to swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
Catalan oscil·lar
  • oscil·larto swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
Chinese Mandarin 振盪 /振荡
  • 振盪 /振荡 (zhèndàng)to swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
Czech kmitat, oscilovat
  • kmitatto swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
  • oscilovatto swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
Estonian võnkliikuma
  • võnkliikumato swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
Finnish värähdellä, heilua
  • värähdelläto swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
  • heiluato swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
  • oskilloidato swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
French osciller
  • oscillerto swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
German schwingen, pendeln
  • schwingento swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
  • pendelnto swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
  • oszillierento swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
  • vibrierento swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
  • zitternto swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
  • changierento swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
Greek ταλαντεύομαι, διακυμαίνομαι
  • ταλαντεύομαι (talantévomai)to swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
  • διακυμαίνομαι (diakymaínomai)to swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
  • αιωρούμαι (aioroúmai)to swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
Hebrew תָּנַד, תָּנְדָה
  • תָּנַד (tanad)to swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
  • תָּנְדָה (tanda)to swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
  • הִתְנוֹדֵד (hitnoded)to swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
  • הִתְנוֹדְדָה (hitnodeda)to swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
Hungarian oszcillál
  • oszcillálto swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
Irish ascalaigh
  • ascalaighto swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
Italian oscillare
  • oscillareto swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
Japanese 振動する
  • 振動する (shindō-suru)to swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
Māori piupiu, kōpiupiu
  • piupiuto swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
  • kōpiupiuto swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
Polish oscylować
  • oscylowaćto swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
Portuguese oscilar
  • oscilarto swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
Romanian oscila
  • oscilato swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
Russian колеба́ться, кача́ться
  • колеба́ться (kolebátʹsja)to swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
  • кача́ться (kačátʹsja)to swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
  • осцилли́ровать (oscillírovatʹ)to swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
Spanish oscilar
  • oscilarto swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
Swedish pendla
  • pendlato swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
Ukrainian осцилювати, колива́тися
  • осцилювати (oscyljuvaty)to swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
  • колива́тися (kolyvátysja)to swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm
Welsh osgiliadu
  • osgiliaduto swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

lactisole
Cite this entry
APA

oscillate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oscillate

MLA

“oscillate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oscillate. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oscillate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oscillate.

Source: oscillate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.