Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Reluctance or an inability to make up one's mind; irresolution.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Waut of decision; vacillation of purpose; irresolution.
  • noun Synonyms Irresolution, etc. (see decision); vacillation, hesitation, uncertainty.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Lack of decision; lack of settled purpose, or of firmness; indetermination; wavering of mind; irresolution; vacillation; hesitation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The inability to decide on a course of action, especially if two or more possibilities exist.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun doubt concerning two or more possible alternatives or courses of action
  • noun the trait of irresolution; a lack of firmness of character or purpose

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French indécision.

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Examples

  • Sandy paused in indecision, till suddenly the fact that he was

    The Priestly Prerogative 2010

  • The CIA character "begs for the green light to capture or kill the al Qaeda chieftain, but the line goes dead, suggesting that Berger and his colleagues, including Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and Defense Secretary William S. Cohen, frozen in indecision, had hung up on the CIA man."

    9/11 2009

  • Sandy paused in indecision, till suddenly the fact that he was

    THE PRIESTLY PREROGATIVE 2010

  • What the Don says about Obama's indecision is true, but the reason why it is true is because of the fickle nature of his democratic collegues. ray

    Giuliani backs Rubio, rips into Obama 2010

  • She paused in indecision, neither seeing nor being seen.

    CHAPTER XV 2010

  • It makes it sound like indecision is an exceptional circumstance, when it may in fact be quite commonplace.

    Freeform Critique Hal Duncan 2008

  • Actually, I think this indecision is part of the game of much strange fiction.

    Freeform Critique Hal Duncan 2008

  • Hovering with indecision is common as Clarice Lispector plays out authorial thoughts mediated through her narrator and all in front of her reader.

    The Hour of the Star - Clarice Lispector 2008

  • It makes it sound like indecision is an exceptional circumstance, when it may in fact be quite commonplace.

    Archive 2008-01-01 Hal Duncan 2008

  • Actually, I think this indecision is part of the game of much strange fiction.

    Archive 2008-01-01 Hal Duncan 2008

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