English → Latin
“hesitate” in Latin
dubitōto waver (in opinion), be uncertain, doubt, question, be in doubt; to waver (in coming to a decision), hesitate, delay; cūnctorto delay, impede or hold up; to hesitate, tarry or linger; to dawdlehaesitōto remain fixed in place; to hesitate; to be uncertaincessōto stop, desist, halt, cease; to be lacking or wanting; to delay, hold back, tarry
The English word hesitate itself goes back to Latin haereō, through haesitātus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
hesitate
dubitare (to be prevented by doubts from forming a decision; absolutely, or followed by an infinitive; rarely affirmatively; usually with a negation): cunctari (to delay; absolutely, or followed by an infinitive): haesitare (to doubt, hesitate; absolutely, or on account of anything, ob aliquid or de aliqua re cunctari, to delay from consideration, like μέλλειν: haesitare, from want of resolution: cessare, from want of strength and energy, like ὀκνεῖν. The cunctans delays to begin an action; the cessans, to go on with an action already begun, Döderlein). Not to hesitate, non dubitare or non cunctari (followed by an infinitive, or by quin. ☞ Non dubitare = not to hesitate, is usually construed with infinitive in Cic.; but quin is permissible; nolite dubitare, quin huic uni credatis omnia [Mil., 23, 67]: it is necessary, where dubitare is in passive, especially participle in dus. Domitius thought he ought not to hesitate to risk an engagement, Domitius non dubitandum putavit, quin proelio decertaret, Krüger, 576, 2). I did not hesitate a moment to, ego non habui ambiguum, ut, etc. (Brut. ap. Cic., ad Div., 11, 11, 3): to make anybody hesitate, dubitationem alicui afferre, injicere, dare. Why do we hesitate to confess, etc.? quid tergiversamur, nec fatemur etc. (Cic.).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for hesitate?
- The usual Latin words for “hesitate” are dubitō, cūnctor, haesitō; also cessō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.