See Also: oscillate(medicine)
oscillate(dictionary)
oscillate(dictionary)

oscillate (iou)



oscillate verb. E18.
[Latin oscillat- pa. ppl stem of oscillare swing: see -ATE3.]
1. verb intrans. Swing or move to and fro, esp. between two points; vibrate. E18.
Carlyle Look at the waves oscillating hither, thither on the beach.
b. Electronics. Of a circuit or device: cause oscillations in a current flowing in it. Of a radio receiver or (transf.) a user of one: transmit radio waves owing to faulty operation. E20.
2. verb trans. Cause to swing or move to and fro. M18.
3. verb intrans. fig. Fluctuate between or between two opinions, principles, purposes, etc.; vacillate; waver. L18.
H. Macmillan Political life oscillates between tragedy and comedy.
4. verb intrans. Math. Of a series or function: increase and decrease alternately as successive terms are taken or as the variable tends to infinity. L19.
oscillator noun (a) a person who or thing which oscillates; (b) an apparatus for generating oscillatory electric currents by non-mechanical means (local oscillator: see LOCAL adjective; master oscillator: see MASTER adjective): M19.
oscillatory adjective characterized by oscillation; oscillating, tending to oscillate: M18.