hesitateverb [ I ]
uk/ˈhez.ɪ.teɪt/us/ˈhez.ə.teɪt/B2 to pause before you do or say something, often because you are uncertain or nervous about it:
She hesitated slightly before answering the detective's question.
"Do you love me?" she asked. He hesitated and then said, "I'm not sure."
[ + to infinitive ] If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me.
More examples
- Should you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to contact me.
- He hesitated before ringing her, fearful of what she might say.
- He hesitated before opening the door and walking into the room.
- She hesitated in the middle of the sentence.
- He sounded nervous, and kept hesitating as he spoke.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Hesitating
- dilly-dally
- dither
- falter
- foot
- halting
- hang
- hang back
- have a foot in both camps idiom
- haw
- hem
- hem and haw idiom
- hesitant
- hesitation
- hum
- hum and haw idiom
- pussyfoot
- shilly-shally
- sit
- sit on the fence idiom