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

oscillate \os"cillate\ o^s"si^ll=at, v. i. imp.  p.
   p. oscillated o^s"si^ll=a`te^d; p. pr.  vb. n.
   oscillating o^s"si^ll=a`ti^ng. l. oscillare to
   swing, fr. oscillum a swing, a little mask or puppet made to
   be hung from trees and swing in the wind, prob. orig., a
   little mouth, a dim. from os mouth. see oral, and cf.
   osculate.
   1913 webster
   1. to move backward and forward; to vibrate like a pendulum;
      to swing; to sway.
      1913 webster

   2. to vary or fluctuate between fixed limits; to act or move
      in a fickle or fluctuating manner; to change repeatedly,
      back and forth.
      1913 webster

            the amount of superior families oscillates rather
            than changes, that is, it fluctuates within fixed
            limits.                               --de quincey.
      1913 webster
see also:
oscillated oscillating oral osculate 

[2] : WordNet (r) 2.0

oscillate
     v 1: be undecided about something; waver between conflicting
          positions or courses of action; "he oscillates between
          accepting the new position and retirement" syn: hover,
           vibrate, vacillate
     2: move or swing from side to side regularly; "the needle on
        the meter was oscillating" syn: vibrate
see also:
hover vibrate vacillate 

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

73 moby thesaurus words for "oscillate":
   alternate, back and fill, be here again, bob, bobble, careen,
   change, circle, coggle, come again, come and go, come around,
   come round, come round again, come up again, cycle, dangle, dither,
   ebb and flow, equivocate, flounder, fluctuate, flutter,
   go through phases, hem and haw, intermit, librate, lurch, nutate,
   pendulate, pitch, pulsate, pulse, reappear, recur, reel, reoccur,
   repeat, resonate, return, revolve, ring the changes, rock, roll,
   roll around, rotate, seesaw, shake, shift, shilly-shally, shuffle,
   stagger, swag, sway, swing, teeter, teeter-totter, tergiversate,
   toss, totter, turn, undulate, vacillate, vary, vibrate, wag,
   waggle, wave, waver, wax and wane, wheel, wheel around, wobble

Oscillate >> O Words
Oscillate, definition of term: Oscillate
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