vacilar

v.

1 to hesitate.

El chico vaciló brevemente The boy hesitated briefly.

2 to falter.

3 to flicker (fluctuar) (light).

La llama vaciló en el viento The flame flickered in the wind.

4 to wobble, to sway.

5 to swank, to show off (informal) (chulear).

6 to tease, to pull the leg of, to ride, to spoof.

María vaciló a Ricardo todo el día Mary teased Richard the whole day.

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vacilar

► verbo intransitivo

1 (oscilar) to sway, vacillate

2 (estar poco firme) to wobble

3 (al andar) to sway, stagger, wobble; (al hablar) to falter

4 (luz) to flicker

5 figurado (dudar) to hesitate, waver

6 familiar (tomar el pelo) to joke, tease

■ ¡no me vaciles! don't tease me!

7 familiar (presumir) to show off

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FRASEOLOGÍA

hacer vacilar figurado to shake

sin vacilar without hesitation

memoria que vacila shaky memory

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verb

to hesitate

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1. VI

1) (=dudar) to hesitate, waver; (=ser indeciso) to vacillate; (=esperar) to hold back from doing sth

sin vacilar — unhesitatingly

vacilar en hacer algo — to hesitate to do sth

vacilar entre dos posibilidades — to hesitate between two possibilities

es un hombre que vacila mucho — he is a very indecisive man, he is a man who dithers a lot

no vaciles en decírmelo — don't hesitate to tell me about it

2) (por falta de estabilidad) [mueble] to be unsteady, wobble

[persona] (al andar) to totter, reel; (al hablar) to falter; [memoria] to fail; [moralidad] to be collapsing

3) [luz] to flicker

4) (=variar)

un sabor que vacila entre agradable y desagradable — a taste which varies o ranges between nice and nasty

5) *

(=guasearse)

vacilar con algn — to tease sb, take the mickey out of sb **

6) (Méx)

* (=divertirse) to have fun, lark about *; (=ir de juerga) to go on a spree

7) * (=presumir) to talk big *, show off, swank *

2. VT

1) (=burlarse de) to take the mickey out of **, make fun of

¡no me vaciles! — stop messing me about! *

2) (CAm)

* (=engañar) to trick

* * *

1.

verbo intransitivo

1)

a) (dudar) to hesitate

sin vacilar — without hesitating

vaciló antes de entrar — he hesitated before going in

vacila entre irse o quedarse — she's hesitating over whether to go or stay

no vaciles más, hazlo — stop dithering and do it

vacilar en + inf — to hesitate to + inf

no vaciló en aceptar — he accepted without hesitation

b) fe/determinación to waver

c) luz to flicker

2) (oscilar) persona to stagger, totter

vacilaba al andar — he swayed from side to side as he walked

3) (Esp, Méx fam) (bromear) to joke, to kid (colloq)

4) (AmL exc CS fam) (divertirse) to have fun

2.

vacilar vt (Esp, Méx fam) to tease

* * *

= shake, waver, falter, vacillate, hang back, oscillate, baulk [balk, -USA], wobble.

Ex. This attitude had to go and by the 1830s it was shaking.

Ex. The first decision in establishing headings for the works of corporate bodies is the one over which code makers have wavered.

Ex. The project faltered because the data became increasingly difficult to input and manipulate.

Ex. Australia's treatment of information technology has vacillated between laissez faire and an interventionist strategy.

Ex. This article explores the implications of these threats, maintaining that publishers cannot afford to hang back, but must innovate or atrophy.

Ex. This dichotomy in Muslim history, which has oscillated between periods of piousness & decadence, demonstrates further disunity in the Muslim world.

Ex. While many scholars concede that military interventions are sometimes permissible, they balk when it comes to deciding whether they are ever a moral duty.

Ex. This adaptation of David Leavitt's novel wobbles between comedy and melodrama, ultimately fudging the novel's spiky empathy.

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* sin vacilar = unswervingly.

* vacilar entre... y/o... = hover between... and/or....

* * *

1.

verbo intransitivo

1)

a) (dudar) to hesitate

sin vacilar — without hesitating

vaciló antes de entrar — he hesitated before going in

vacila entre irse o quedarse — she's hesitating over whether to go or stay

no vaciles más, hazlo — stop dithering and do it

vacilar en + inf — to hesitate to + inf

no vaciló en aceptar — he accepted without hesitation

b) fe/determinación to waver

c) luz to flicker

2) (oscilar) persona to stagger, totter

vacilaba al andar — he swayed from side to side as he walked

3) (Esp, Méx fam) (bromear) to joke, to kid (colloq)

4) (AmL exc CS fam) (divertirse) to have fun

2.

vacilar vt (Esp, Méx fam) to tease

* * *

= shake, waver, falter, vacillate, hang back, oscillate, baulk [balk, -USA], wobble.

Ex: This attitude had to go and by the 1830s it was shaking.

Ex: The first decision in establishing headings for the works of corporate bodies is the one over which code makers have wavered.

Ex: The project faltered because the data became increasingly difficult to input and manipulate.

Ex: Australia's treatment of information technology has vacillated between laissez faire and an interventionist strategy.

Ex: This article explores the implications of these threats, maintaining that publishers cannot afford to hang back, but must innovate or atrophy.

Ex: This dichotomy in Muslim history, which has oscillated between periods of piousness & decadence, demonstrates further disunity in the Muslim world.

Ex: While many scholars concede that military interventions are sometimes permissible, they balk when it comes to deciding whether they are ever a moral duty.

Ex: This adaptation of David Leavitt's novel wobbles between comedy and melodrama, ultimately fudging the novel's spiky empathy.

* sin vacilar = unswervingly.

* vacilar entre... y/o... = hover between... and/or....

* * *

vacilar [A1 ]

vi

A

1 (dudar) to hesitate

respondió sin vacilar he replied without hesitating o without hesitation

vacila entre aceptar la propuesta y seguir aquí she's hesitating over whether to accept the offer or stay here, she can't make up her mind whether to accept the offer or stay here

no vaciles más, hazlo stop dithering and do it

vacilar EN algo:

no vaciló en la elección he made his choice without hesitation

no vacilaron en aceptar they did not hesitate to accept, they accepted without hesitation

2 «fe/determinación» to waver

3 «luz» to flicker

B (oscilar)

1 «mueble» to wobble, rock

2

«persona»: vaciló pero enseguida recuperó el equilibrio she staggered/tottered but she regained her balance immediately

vacilaba al andar, como si estuviese borracho he swayed from side to side as he walked, as if he were drunk

C (Esp, Méx fam) (bromear) to joke, to kid (colloq), to fool around (colloq)

D

(AmL exc CS fam) (divertirse): vacilamos un montón en la fiesta we had a great time o a lot of fun at the party

E (Esp fam) (alardear) to show off vacilar DE algo to boast ABOUT sth

■ vacilar

vt

(Esp, Méx fam) to tease

lo estuvieron vacilando toda la noche they were teasing him o pulling his leg all evening

¡no me vaciles! be serious!

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vacilar (conjugate vacilar) verbo intransitivo
1

a) (dudar) to hesitate;

◊ sin vacilar without hesitating;

no vaciló en aceptar he did not hesitate to accept, he accepted without hesitation

b) [fe/determinación] to waver

c) [luz] to flicker

2 (oscilar) [persona] to stagger, totter
3 (AmL exc CS fam) (divertirse) to have fun
vacilar verbo intransitivo
1 (titubear, dudar) to hesitate: vaciló en responder, he hesitated before answering
2 (una voz) to falter
(una luz) to flicker
3 argot (hacer burla soterradamente) to tease: ¿me estás vacilando?, are you winding me up?
4 argot (presumir, fanfarronear) to boast, show off
'vacilar' also found in these entries:
Spanish:
titubear
English:
dilly-dally
- falter
- hang back
- hesitate
- hold back
- little
- shilly-shally
- shrink
- straight
- vacillate
- waver
- dither

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vacilar

♦ vi

1. [dudar] to hesitate;

contestó sin vacilar she replied without hesitation;

vacilaba entre ambas opciones he hesitated o wavered between the two options;

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2. [voz, principios, régimen] to falter

3. [fluctuar] [luz] to flicker;

[pulso] to be irregular

4. [oscilar] [mueble, persona] to wobble

5. Fam [causar sensación] to be really cool;

una moto de esas vacila mucho a bike like that is really cool

6. Esp, Carib, Méx Fam [bromear]

está vacilando he's pulling your leg o kidding, Br he's taking the mickey

7. CAm, Carib, Méx Fam [parrandear] to party

♦ vt

Fam

1. Esp, Carib, Méx

vacilar a alguien [tomar el pelo] to pull sb's leg, Br to take the mickey out of sb;

me estás vacilando you're pulling my leg

2. Carib [mirar con atención] to get a load of, to check out;

vacílate ese carro get a load of that car, check out that car

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vacilar

I v/i

1 hesitate; de fe, resolución waver

2 de objeto wobble, rock; de persona stagger

3 Méx fam (divertirse) have fun

II v/t fam

make fun of

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vacilar vi

1) : to hesitate, to vacillate, to waver

2) : to be unsteady, to wobble

3) : to flicker

4) fam : to joke, to fool around

* * *

vacilar vb (dudar) to hesitate

el jugador vaciló antes de chutar el balón the player hesitated before shooting

¡no me vaciles! come off it!