oscillate

UK: /ˈɒsɪleɪt/ US: /ˈɑsəˌleɪt/ ,(os′ə lāt′)

Inflections of 'oscillate' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

oscillates

v 3rd person singular

oscillating

v pres p

oscillated

v past

oscillated

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

os•cil•late /ˈɑsəˌleɪt/   v. [no object] , -lat•ed, -lat•ing. 

1. to swing or move to and fro, forward and back, or side to side:
   The pendulum oscillated.
2. to vary, change, or switch between differing or opposite beliefs, conditions, moods, etc.;
   vacillate.

os•cil•la•tor, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

os•cil•late  (os′ə lāt′), v., -lat•ed, -lat•ing. 
v.i. 

1. to swing or move to and fro, as a pendulum does.
2. to vary or vacillate between differing beliefs, opinions, conditions, etc.:
   He oscillates regularly between elation and despair.
3. Physics to have, produce, or generate oscillations.
4. Mathematics (of a function, sequence, etc.) to tend to no limit, including infinity:
   The sequence 0, 1, 0, 1, … oscillates.

v.t. 

5. to cause to move to and fro;
   vibrate.

• Latin oscillātus (past participle of oscillāre to swing, ride on a swing), equivalent. to oscill(um) a swing + -ātus -ate¹
• 1720–30

Synonyms

• 1. See swing ¹.
• 2. fluctuate, waver.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

oscillate / ˈɒsɪˌleɪt/ verb

1. (intransitive) to move or swing from side to side regularly
2. (intransitive) to waver between opinions, courses of action, etc
3. to undergo or produce or cause to undergo or produce oscillation

Etymology: 18th Century: from Latin oscillāre to swing, from oscillum a swing