vacilar

From Latin vacillāre.

vacilar (first-person singular present vacilo, first-person singular preterite vacilei, past participle vacilado) (intransitive)

1. to vacillate (to sway unsteadily from one side to the other)

   Conforme o navio vacilava, ficava mais enjoado. ― As the ship rocked, I felt sicker.

2. to vacillate (to swing between a course of action or opinion and another)

   A menina vacilou entre o bolo e o sorvete. ― The girl vacillated between the cake and the ice cream.

3. to hesitate (to pause before making a decision)

   Ele sempre responde sem vacilar. ― He always answers without hesitating.

4. to falter, to waver (to weaken, to lose vigor)

   Sua determinação vacilava. ― Their determination wavered.

5. (Brazil, colloquial) to make a mistake or wrong choice; to screw up

   Synonym: bobear

   Ontem eu vacilei. Foi mal. ― I screwed up yesterday. Sorry.

6. (Brazil, colloquial) to behave inattentively, obliviously, or uncarefully

   Synonyms: marcar bobeira, dar bobeira, dar sopa, dar bandeira, marcar touca, moscar, panguar, brisar

   Eu vacilei e quando percebi já estava atrasado. ― I wasn’t paying attention, and when I realized it I was already late.

• “vacilar”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
• “vacilar”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
• “vacilar”, in Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisboa: Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, 2001–2025
• “vacilar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025
• “vacilar”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025

From Latin vacillāre.

• IPA^(key): /baθiˈlaɾ/ [ba.θiˈlaɾ] (Spain)
• IPA^(key): /basiˈlaɾ/ [ba.siˈlaɾ] (Latin America, Philippines)

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: va‧ci‧lar

vacilar (first-person singular present vacilo, first-person singular preterite vacilé, past participle vacilado)

1. to hesitate, waver, dither (UK), vacillate

   Synonym: hesitar (rare)

2. (colloquial, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala) to enjoy

   Synonyms: disfrutar, gozar

3. (colloquial) to spy on

   Synonyms: espiar, avizorar

4. (colloquial) to banter, kid, tease, rib, trick; to play a joke on, to pull someone's leg

   Synonym: tomar el pelo

• “vacilar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024
• “vacilar”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010