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“osculate”
oscillate, osculate, vacillate
oscillate (AHS uh layt") (verb)
1. To move like a pendulum that goes back and forth: The fan on the table was set to oscillate in order to keep the air fresh.
2. To vary in feelings, opinions, or actions from one extreme to the other: When Mildred heard the news of the accident, her reactions seemed to oscillate between hope and despair.
3. To move from above to below a mean value: The stock market seemed to oscillate around the 2500 mark.
2. To vary in feelings, opinions, or actions from one extreme to the other: When Mildred heard the news of the accident, her reactions seemed to oscillate between hope and despair.
3. To move from above to below a mean value: The stock market seemed to oscillate around the 2500 mark.
osculate (AHS kyuh layt") (verb)
To use one’s mouth to bestow a kiss: At the end of the wedding ceremony, the couple decided to osculate in front of all their friends.
vacillate (VAS uh layt") (verb)
To fluctuate, to waver, or to hesitate: After the breakup with her boyfriend, Lucinda seemed to vacillate between being very angry and very sad.
Sometimes Mike thinks his kid sister is like a pendulum because she tends to oscillate back and forth in her opinions; for example, Lenora and her husband promised to osculate at the end of their wedding ceremony; then she started to vacillate, thinking to osculate before so many people would be embarrassing.
This entry is located in the following unit:
Confusing Words Clarified: Group O; Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, Polysemes, etc. +
(page 2)
osculate (verb), osculates; osculated; osculating
1. To touch with the lips by pressing them against another person's lips or to kiss another part of the body as an expression of love, greeting, etc.: The newly married couple osculated each other when they were pronounced "husband and wife".

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Little Patrick's grandmother always osculates him on the forehead when she comes to visit his family.
2. From Latin osculari, from osculum, "kiss"; literally, "little mouth" diminutive of os, "mouth".