the act of hesitating; a delay due to uncertainty of mind or fear

His hesitation cost him the championship.

a state of doubt or uncertainty.

a halting or faltering in speech.

noun

certainty , eagerness , go , perseverance , sureness

noun

averseness , dawdling , delay , delaying , demurral , doubt , dubiety , equivocation , faltering , fluctuation , fumbling , hemming and hawing , hesitancy , indecision , indecisiveness , indisposition , irresolution , misgiving , mistrust , oscillation , pause , procrastination , qualm , reluctance , scruple , skepticism , stammering , stumbling , stuttering , unwillingness , vacillation , waveringnotes:hesitancy is a quality or state , while hesitation is an act , irresoluteness , shilly-shally , tentativeness , timidity , timidness , to-and-fro