fluctuation

Borrowed from Latin fluctuatiōnem, accusative singular of fluctuatiō, from fluctuō, from fluctus. Morphologically fluctuate +‎ -ion

• IPA^(key): /flʌkt͡ʃuːˈeɪʃən/

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• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

fluctuation (countable and uncountable, plural fluctuations)

1. A motion like that of waves; a moving in this and that direction; an irregular rising and falling.

   the fluctuations of the sea

   • 2023 November 15, Prof. Jim Wild, “This train was delayed because of bad weather in space”, in RAIL, number 996, page 30:

     The scientific instruments of the day recorded rapid fluctuations in the Earth's magnetic field, as powerful electrical currents flowed through the upper atmosphere.

2. A wavering; unsteadiness.

   fluctuations of opinion

   fluctuations of prices

3. In medicine, a wave-like motion or undulation of a fluid in a natural or abnormal cavity (e.g. pus in an abscess), which is felt during palpation or percussion.

• fluctuate

Borrowed from Latin flūctuātiōnem.

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fluctuation f (plural fluctuations)

1. fluctuation

• fluctuer

• “fluctuation”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.