indecision
noun
Simple meaning
Doubt about two or more possible alternatives or courses of action.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihndihsizhuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪndɪˈsɪʒən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Doubt concerning two or more possible alternatives or courses of action
“His indecision was only momentary but the opportunity was lost.”
The inability to decide on a course of action, especially if two or more possibilities exist.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Doubt concerning two or more possible alternatives or courses of action
Used this way, indecision is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“His indecision was only momentary but the opportunity was lost.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use indecision
- “His indecision was only momentary but the opportunity was lost.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.