4 syllables: hes, i, tat, ing. Stress on hes.
HEZ-uh-tay-ting
/ˈhɛzəˌteɪtɪŋ/
hesitating is pronounced HEZ-uh-tay-ting (/ˈhɛzəˌteɪtɪŋ/). It has four syllables (hes-i-tat-ing), with the stress on "hes". Hesitating is the act of pausing or delaying before speaking or deciding, often due to doubt or uncertainty. In grammar, it can function as a present participle or gerund form of the verb hesitate. The word conveys a momentary lack of certainty and is frequently used to describe cautious, uncertain, or reflective behavior in speech and thought.
Hesitating is the act of pausing or delaying before speaking or deciding, often due to doubt or uncertainty. In grammar, it can function as a present participle or gerund form of the verb hesitate. The word conveys a momentary lack of certainty and is frequently used to describe cautious, uncertain, or reflective behavior in speech and thought.
"She’s hesitating at the doorway, unsure whether to enter."
"The manager paused, hesitating before approving the proposal."
"He’s hesitating because the instructions aren’t clear."
Begin with /ˈhɛzɪˌteɪtɪŋ/. The first syllable has primary stress: /ˈhɛz/. The middle syllable is a light /ɪ/ and the following is /teɪ/ with a long a; the final is /tɪŋ/. Keep your tongue high for /z/ and push air for /t/ before the final /ɪŋ/. In connected speech, you may hear a quick link from /z/ to /t/.
Two frequent errors: 1) Dropping the /z/ in hesitating, saying /ˈhezˌeɪtɪŋ/ or /ˈheɪtəŋ/. Keep the /z/ and place it after the initial /h/; 2) Merging /teɪ/ and /tɪŋ/ too quickly, producing /ˈhɛzɪtɪŋ/ without the clear /eɪ/ diphthong. Ensure the sequence /ˈhɛz-ɪ-teɪ-tɪŋ/ with distinct /teɪ/ and a crisp /t/.
US/UK/AU all share /ˈhɛzɪˌteɪtɪŋ/ but differences arise in rhoticity and vowel quality. US tends to a less clipped /ɪ/ in the middle and a taller /eɪ/; UK often keeps a slightly tenser /ɛ/ and more precise /t/ release. Australian typically features a broader, more centralized middle vowel and a smoother /ɪ/; the final -ing may reduce slightly.
Three challenges: 1) The sequence /zɪˌteɪ/ requires maintaining a voiced sibilant before a front diphthong; 2) Keeping primary stress on the first syllable when the word is longer, especially in rapid speech; 3) Producing the final -ing with a clear /ɪŋ/ rather than an ambiguous nasal. Practice by isolating /ˈhɛz/ and then linking to /ɪˌteɪtɪŋ/ with controlled pace.
Unique tip: emphasize the syllabic boundary between /zɪ/ and /teɪ/ using a tiny vowel break and slight glottal release before /t/. This ensures the /t/ is clean in fluent speech and avoids slurring the mid syllable. Visualize: h-ez-ih-tei-ting, with steady air and a crisp /t/.
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Hesitating derives from the verb hesitate, which originates from the Latin haesitare, meaning to cling or be stuck, from haesus (haerere) ‘to stick, cling’. Through Old French haester and Latin forms, the sense broadened from literally sticking to delaying or doubting. In Middle English, hesitation referred to the act of pausing before speech or action. The modern participial form hesitating emerged as English adopted -ing participles to describe ongoing action or state. The root haer- or haes- traces to Indo-European roots related to clinging or impediment, evolving semantically into doubt, pause, and reluctance. Over centuries, hesitation broadened to describe cognitive indecision and rhetorical pauses in speech, while still retaining concrete motion-related senses in older uses. First known written attestations of hesitate date to Latin-medieval texts, with hesitating appearing in English after the post-medieval period as a natural extension of the verb form for continuous action. In contemporary usage, hesitating commonly collocates with adverbs of degree (slightly hesitating, hesitating briefly) and is linked to contexts of decision-making, speech acts, and performance anxiety. It is a neutral-to-negative descriptor depending on tone, often used in descriptive narration or analysis of decision processes.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "hesitating" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "hesitating"
-ing sounds
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