oscillate : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: oscillate	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for oscillate
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
oscillate v be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action; "He oscillates between accepting the new position and retirement" Synonym(s): hover, vibrate, vacillate, oscillate move or swing from side to side regularly; "the needle on the meter was oscillating" Synonym(s): oscillate, vibrate
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Oscillate \Os"cil*late\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Oscillated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Oscillating}.] [L. oscillare to swing, fr. oscillum a swing, a little mask or puppet made to be hung from trees and swing in the wind, prob. orig., a little mouth, a dim. from os mouth. See {Oral}, and cf. {Osculate}.] 1. To move backward and forward; to vibrate like a pendulum; to swing; to sway. 2. To vary or fluctuate between fixed limits; to act or move in a fickle or fluctuating manner; to change repeatedly, back and forth. The amount of superior families oscillates rather than changes, that is, it fluctuates within fixed limits. --Dc Quincey.