1. (v. i.) To stop or pause respecting decision or action; to be in suspense or uncertainty as to a determination; as, he hesitated whether to accept the offer or not; men often hesitate in forming a judgment.
2. (v. i.) To stammer; to falter in speaking.
3. (v. t.) To utter with hesitation or to intimate by a reluctant manner.
Thesaurus Entries
alternate, back down, balance, balk, be dilatory, blench, boggle, call a recess, debate, delay, deliberate, demur, dither, equivocate, falter, fear, fight shy of, filibuster, flinch, fluctuate, fumble, gain time, halt, hang, hang back, hang fire, hang in doubt, hang off, have qualms, haver, haw, hem, hem and haw, hold back, hold off, hover, hum, hum and haw, jib, let up, make bones about, make time, mammer, pause, play for time, ponder, procrastinate, pull back, quail, recess, recoil, rest, retreat, scruple, shilly-shally, shrink, shrink from, shy, shy at, splutter, sputter, stall, stall for time, stall off, stammer, stick at, stickle, stooge around, stop to consider, straddle the fence, strain, strain at, stumble, stutter, take a recess, talk against time, temporize, tergiversate, think twice, think twice about, vacillate, wait, waver, wince, withdraw, yield
