Lexic.us

Definition of Oscillate

1. Verb. Be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action. "He oscillates between accepting the new position and retirement"

2. Verb. Move or swing from side to side regularly. "The needle on the meter was oscillating"

Definition of Oscillate

1. v. i. To move backward and forward; to vibrate like a pendulum; to swing; to sway.

Definition of Oscillate

1. Verb. (intransitive) To swing back and forth, especially if with a regular rhythm. ¹

2. Verb. (intransitive) To vacillate between conflicting opinions, etc. ¹

3. Verb. (intransitive) To vary above and below a mean value. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Oscillate

1. [v -LATED, -LATING, -LATES]

Medical Definition of Oscillate

1. 1. To move backward and forward; to vibrate like a pendulum; to swing; to sway. 2. To vary or fluctuate between fixed limits; to act or move in a fickle or fluctuating manner; to change repeatedly, back and forth. "The amount of superior families oscillates rather than changes, that is, it fluctuates within fixed limits." (Dc Quincey) Origin: 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. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Oscillate

osarizawaite osarsite osazone osazones osbornite oscheocele oscheocoele oscillancy oscillaria oscillate (current term)

oscillated oscillates oscillating oscillating vision oscillation oscillational oscillationless oscillationlike oscillations oscillative

oscillaton oscillatons oscillator oscillatoria

Literary usage of Oscillate

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge (1920)
"... Ir.te more rapidly than do rectangular ones of the same length, while sheets narrowed at the middle or broadened at the ends oscillate less rapidly. ..."

2. Science Abstracts by Institution of Electrical Engineers (1900)
"... which causes a double-armed lever, /, to oscillate and throw over a clutch, whereby a different counting train is thrown into action. ..."

3. Illustrations of mechanics by Henry Moseley (1839)
"274, To MAKE A PENDULUM oscillate IN A CYCLOID. ... A body suspended from a string and allowed to oscillate, would oscillate precisely under the same ..."

4. Principles of Radio Communication by John Harold Morecroft, A. Pinto, Walter Andrew Curry (1921)
"Of course each tube may be caused to oscillate in the same manner at the same or a slightly different frequency from every other. What does happen, however, ..."

5. The Elements of Molecular Mechanics by Joseph Bayma (1866)
"two elements oscillate through the element R with oscillations of a constant ... 6) having an equal power w will oscillate through an attractive element A ..."

6. American Edition of the British Encyclopedia: Or, Dictionary of Arts and ...by William Nicholson by William Nicholson (1821)
"They oscillate on both sides of the planet, and their relative rank is determined by the length of these oscillations. That one in which the oscillation is ..."

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