Synonyms of irresolution

irresolution

noun

as in hesitation

a state or an instance of temporary inaction because of uncertainty about the right course of action

after a moment of anguished irresolution, I raised my rifle and fired at the charging animal

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hesitation
• hesitancy
• hesitance
• pause
• vacillation
• indecision
• delay
• wavering
• deliberation
• uncertainty
• faltering
• wobbling
• fence-sitting
• shilly-shallying
• shilly-shally
• doubt
• waiting
• procrastination
• indecisiveness
• reluctance
• indetermination
• incertitude
• hawing
• indisposition
• consideration
• timidity
• debate
• second thought
• unwillingness
• avoidance
• misgiving
• equivocation
• faintheartedness
• disinclination
• arrière-pensée
• uncertainness
• shyness
• timidness
• aversion

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• resolution
• determination
• certainty
• confidence
• firmness
• certitude
• decisiveness
• readiness
• resoluteness
• sureness
• eagerness
• alacrity

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of irresolution

Marcon never allows Ludwig or Fritz the release of closure; the films don’t so much restart as stay in a state of irresolution, endlessly pressing pause. — Matthew McLean, Artforum, 22 Sep. 2026

Such an image of irresolution encourages anti-American governments and terrorist groups. — Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Reilly, who composed the song wholesale, seems content to swap his Satie-esque irresolution for something straightforwardly plaintive, like a lullaby. — Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 30 July 2026

In those heady decades of postmodern language-play and seductive irresolution, claims for literature as a force for truth and justice would likely be dismissed, with a smirk, as humanist pieties. — Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026