Skip to content

oscilación

oscillation

noun oh-see-lah-SYOHN Rare

Origin: From Latin oscillatio, from oscillare ('to swing').

Also means

fluctuation

Usage Note

Oscilación refers to a back-and-forth movement or swing, whether physical (a pendulum) or figurative (price oscilaciones). In scientific contexts it is equivalent to English 'oscillation'; in everyday speech variación or fluctuación is more common for non-physical swings.

Examples

"La oscilación del péndulo era perfectamente regular."

Natural Translation

The oscillation of the pendulum was perfectly regular.

Free starter pack

Building your Spanish vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common Spanish words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore Spanish by topic