- constant change; vacillation; instability
- undulation
- a variation in an animal or plant that is determined by environment rather than heredity
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
fluc•tu•a•tion
(fluk′cho̅o̅ ā′shən),USA pronunciation n.
- continual change from one point or condition to another.
- wavelike motion;
undulation. - Geneticsa body variation due to environmental factors and not inherited.
- Latin fluctuātiōn- (stem of fluctuātiō) a fluctuation, wavering. See fluctuate, -ion
- late Middle English 1400–50
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
fluctuation /ˌflʌktjʊˈeɪʃən/ n
fluc•tu•ate /ˈflʌktʃuˌeɪt/USA pronunciation
v. [no object], -at•ed, -at•ing.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to change continually; vary irregularly;
shift back and forth or up and down:Prices fluctuated wildly.
fluc•tu•ate
(fluk′cho̅o̅ āt′),USA pronunciation v., -at•ed, -at•ing.
v.i.
v.t.
v.i.
- to change continually;
shift back and forth;
vary irregularly:The price of gold fluctuated wildly last month. - to move back and forth in waves.
v.t.
- to cause to fluctuate.
- Latin fluctuātus undulated, past participle of fluctuāre to flow, equivalent. to fluctu(s) a flowing (derivative of fluere to flow) + -ātus -ate1
- 1625–35
- 1. See waver. 2. oscillate.
'fluctuation' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
even
- oscillation
- range
- steady
- swing
- thermal shock
- throw
- tick
- trade cycle
- tremolo
- vibrato
- alternation
- ambivalence
- amphidromic point
- bobbing
- bounce
- business cycle
- cycloid
- European Monetary System
- Masson disk
- pulse
- vacillation
- scintillation
- starquake