fluctuation

[fluhk-choo-ey-shuh n] /ˌflʌk tʃuˈeɪ ʃən/
noun
1.
continual change from one point or condition to another.
2.
wavelike motion; undulation.
3.
Genetics. a body variation due to environmental factors and not inherited.
Origin
1400-50; late Middle English < Latin fluctuātiōn- (stem of fluctuātiō) a fluctuation, wavering. See fluctuate, -ion
Related forms
nonfluctuation, noun
Examples from the web for fluctuation
  • And it made one think about the fluctuation of dance styles.
  • Gold and his colleagues began their research on lab rats believing that neurotransmitter fluctuation modulated memory formation.
  • Though the fluctuation is not vast, it is enough to make a difference from peak to trough.
  • We have seen only a slight fluctuation in support for either side during this debate.
  • The future, though, won't be governed by that kind of natural fluctuation alone.
  • Given the fluctuation of sea levels in the past few hundred thousand years, that is no surprise.
  • They say that nature is actually in a continuing state of disturbance and fluctuation.
  • Despite being an exceptionally poor situation, it still remains a fluctuation in the business cycle and will ultimately stabilize.
  • The argument about whether any climate change is human caused or simply a normal fluctuation in temperature is superfluous.
  • Much of the fluctuation is caused by economic supply and demand.
British Dictionary definitions for fluctuation

fluctuation

/ˌflʌktjʊˈeɪʃən/
noun
1.
constant change; vacillation; instability
2.
undulation
3.
a variation in an animal or plant that is determined by environment rather than heredity
Word Origin and History for fluctuation
n.

mid-15c., from Middle French fluctuation (12c.) or directly from Latin fluctuationem (nominative fluctuatio) "a wavering, vacillation," noun of action from past participle stem of fluctuare "to undulate, to move in waves," from fluctus "wave, billow, surge," from past participle of fluere "to flow" (see fluent).