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fluctuate

2 antonyms and opposites of fluctuate, grouped by meaning.

Verb — To rise and fall irregularly in number, amount or level.

Synonyms by Meaning

1. verb

To rise and fall irregularly in number, amount or level.

“Petrol prices fluctuate from week to week.”

vary swing oscillate waver seesaw

Opposites

stabilise hold steady

2. verb

To change repeatedly between different moods, opinions or states.

“His mood fluctuated between quiet optimism and outright panic.”

vacillate waver alternate

Antonyms

stabilise hold steady

How to Use Fluctuate

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

prices fluctuate fluctuate wildly fluctuate between fluctuating demand

Neutral; very common in finance, science and health writing.

Etymology

From Latin fluctuat-, fluctuare 'to undulate', from fluctus 'wave', from fluere 'to flow'.

Full origin of fluctuate →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between fluctuate and vary?

Vary simply means to be different from one instance to the next. Fluctuate adds the idea of repeated up-and-down movement over time, usually without a settled pattern.

Does fluctuate need a preposition?

Not always. You can say prices fluctuate on its own, or add detail with between (fluctuate between 5 and 9 per cent), by (fluctuate by 3 points) or around (fluctuate around the average).

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Synonyms and antonyms from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.