[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

fluctuate \fluc"tuate\, v. i. imp.  p. p. fluctuated; p.
   pr.  vb. n. fluctuating. l. fluctuatus, p. p. of
   fluctuare, to wave, fr. fluctus wave, fr. fluere, fluctum, to
   flow. see fluent, and cf. flotilla.
   1. to move as a wave; to roll hither and thither; to wave; to
      float backward and forward, as on waves; as, a fluctuating
      field of air. --blackmore.
      1913 webster

   2. to move now in one direction and now in another; to be
      wavering or unsteady; to be irresolute or undetermined; to
      vacillate.

   syn: to waver; vacillate; hesitate; scruple.

   usage: to fluctuate, vacillate, waver. -- fluctuate is
          applied both to things and persons and denotes that
          they move as they are acted upon. the stocks
          fluctuate; a man fluctuates between conflicting
          influences. vacillate and waver are applied to persons
          to represent them as acting themselves. a man
          vacillates when he goes backward and forward in his
          opinions and purposes, without any fixity of mind or
          principles. a man wavers when he shrinks back or
          hesitates at the approach of difficulty or danger. one
          who is fluctuating in his feelings is usually
          vacillating in resolve, and wavering in execution.
          1913 webster
see also:
fluctuated fluctuating fluent flotilla fluctuate vacillate 
waver 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

fluctuate \fluc"tuate\, v. t.
   to cause to move as a wave; to put in motion. r.
   1913 webster

         and fluctuate all the still perfume.     --tennyson.
   1913 webster

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

fluctuate
     v 1: cause to fluctuate or move in a wave-like pattern
     2: move or sway in a rising and falling or wavelike pattern;
        "the line on the monitor vacillated" syn: vacillate, waver
     3: be unstable; have ups and downs; "the stock market
        fluctuates"
see also:
vacillate waver 

[4] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

55 moby thesaurus words for "fluctuate":
   alternate, back and fill, bob, bobble, careen, change,
   chop and change, coggle, dangle, dither, ebb and flow, equivocate,
   flounder, flutter, go through phases, intermit, lack regularity,
   librate, lurch, nutate, oscillate, pendulate, pitch, recur, reel,
   resonate, return, reverse, ring the changes, rock, roll, seesaw,
   shake, shift, shilly-shally, shuffle, stagger, swag, sway, swing,
   teeter, teeter-totter, tergiversate, toss, totter, turn, vacillate,
   vary, vibrate, wag, waggle, wave, waver, wax and wane, wobble

Fluctuate >> F Words
Fluctuate, definition of term: Fluctuate
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