Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Definitions

oscillate

[os-uh-layt] / ˈɒs əˌleɪt /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

What funds like his appreciate, Feng says, is momentum persistence, whereas market environments where prices are choppy or oscillate in a narrow range are not helpful.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026

Hinged panels, used to roll and slow an aircraft, rapidly oscillate from the shockwaves and wind.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

The researchers could also change the direction of that current by rotating the polarization of the two optical fields, which describes the direction in which the light waves oscillate.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

The waves could have gotten the vessel to oscillate back and forth, Sharpe said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

It would oscillate through the earth and back, until eventually it settled down at the center.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking

The laser's light oscillates at a particular frequency, providing a regular rhythm that can be used to measure time.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

Meanwhile, Brolin’s Bangley oscillates in personality from miserable bastard to laugh factory.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

The Relative Strength Index, which oscillates between zero and 100, is a widely followed underlying technical indicator that measures the magnitude of recent gains against the magnitude of recent losses.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 19, 2026

As the next round of talks approaches, the public oscillates between faint hopes for diplomacy and an acute awareness that events far beyond their control may reshape their future overnight.

From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026

It oscillates up and down faster and faster as it approaches the singularity, whipping from positive to negative and back again.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Its overall light field oscillated in the same direction, even though it contained photons of different colors traveling along many different paths.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026

I’ve oscillated wildly between thinking the U.S. will ride a host-nation bump to the semis and worrying they’ll be humiliated by Paraguay and soccer in this country will be canceled forever.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

Even though the stock-bond correlation has oscillated widely over the years, this ratio has remained remarkably constant — as you can see from the chart above.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 30, 2026

Throughout its history, Pakistan has oscillated from more civilian autonomy to overt control under military leaders like General Pervez Musharraf and General Zia-ul-Haq.

From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2025

As I turned away to continue walking up the trail, my emotions oscillated between nervous anticipation and a nearly overwhelming sense of dread.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

While Johnson’s elasticity as a performer is a bit more contentious, I’ve always found her choices fascinating — oscillating between rom-coms, superhero films and arthouse horror with the bat of a mascara’d eye.

From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026

The Selic policy rate is 13.5% with inflation oscillating around 4.5%.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026

The debate about AI and jobs has become exhausting and largely unproductive, oscillating between “AI will take all jobs” and “AI will create more jobs than it destroys.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

Like many recent theater school grads, Dela Cruz was still trying to find his niche as a performer, oscillating between the pursuits of ethnic ambiguity — a casting asset — and cultural identity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2026

Each wave would be oscillating back and forth between the state on the right and the one on the left.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones




Vocabulary lists containing oscillate


Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 14,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training