irresolutely

IPA/ɪˈrezəluːtli/
IPA/ɪˈrezəluːtli/

irresolutely — adverb

1. acting without confidence, hesitating and repeatedly changing your mind about sm

1.adverbC2
Definition

acting without confidence, hesitating and repeatedly changing your mind about small decisions — like picking up one item from a shelf and then putting it back to choose another.

Example

Adaeze stood at the counter, irresolutely picking up one scarf, then another, before leaving empty-handed.

Defne irresolutely scrolled through the job listings, opening and closing each one without ever applying.

adverb before verb phrase with simultaneous participial clauses

Common collocations
  • irresolutely pace
  • irresolutely scroll
  • stand irresolutely
  • irresolutely pick up and put down
  • irresolutely weigh
Synonyms
  • hesitantly

    focuses on the pause before acting rather than changing direction mid-action

  • indecisively

    closest in meaning; describes the inability to settle on a choice

  • uncertainly

    broader — describes any doubt, not just choice-related

Antonyms
  • resolutely

    opposite: with firm determination and clear purpose

  • decisively

    without hesitation, making a clear choice and sticking to it

Grammar Patterns

modifies a verb phrase

often before or after the verb

Usage Note

Frequently used with verbs of motion or choosing (pace, scroll, pick, reach). Unlike the more common hesitantly, irresolutely suggests not just a pause but active reversal — the person starts one course of action, then abandons it for another, often more than once.

Common Mistakes

She irresolutely decided to take the job.
She irresolutely weighed the offer, accepting it one day and declining the next.
irresolutely describes wavering, not a single firm decision.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

Hesitantly describes a pause caused by fear or doubt before doing something; the focus is on the delay, not what happens next. Indecisively is the closest synonym — it captures the same inability to settle on a choice. Uncertainly is broader and can describe any situation where confidence is lacking, not just a choice between options. Tentatively means doing something as a cautious trial, with the understanding that you may change course later. Irresolutely adds an extra flavour of restlessness — you keep reversing the decision you just made, not simply pausing. For example: 'She hesitantly raised her hand to ask a question' (pause from nervousness) vs. 'She irresolutely raised her hand, lowered it, then raised it again' (active back-and-forth).

hesitantly ↗indecisively ↗uncertainly ↗tentatively ↗

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Irresolutely is the adverb form of irresolute, made by adding -ly. The adjective irresolute comes from Latin irresolutus, a combination of in- ('not') and resolutus ('loosened, untied'), the past participle of resolvere ('to untie'). So at its root, irresolutely means 'in an unresolved, unloosened manner' — describing someone who cannot 'untie' the knot of a decision.