Hesitate
Hesitate verb - To show uncertainty about the right course of action.
Usage example: I didn't hesitate to tell them that what they were doing was wrong and that I wanted no part of it
Pause is a synonym for hesitate in activity topic. In some cases you can use "Pause" instead a verb "Hesitate", when it comes to topics like decide, delay, wait, waver. popular alternative
Pause
Mutual synonyms
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
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It's a word association game where you musn't pause, you musn't hesitate, but to make it harder, for every correct word you say, you have to put a marshmallow in your mouth.
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Cyan will hesitate and Shadow will calmly leave your party if he's still with you at that point, but there's still very little pause given before jumping off a waterfall so large you've got time for a few random encounters and a minor boss battle on the way down.
Source: Inevitable Waterfall
Cite this Source
Pause and Hesitate. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/hesitate/pause
Hesitate & Pause. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/hesitate/pause>.
Pause or Hesitate. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/hesitate/pause.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "hesitate" and "pause" have occurred on timeline