noun
- a weight hung from a fixed point so that it can swing freely back and forth, especially as used in clocks to regulate movement
- something that changes regularly from one condition, situation, or position to another and back again
Usage: figurative
Examples
- The grandfather clock’s pendulum swung steadily back and forth.
- She watched the pendulum mark each second with its rhythmic motion.
- The pendulum in the physics lab demonstrated the principles of gravity.
- Public opinion swings like a pendulum between conservative and liberal views.
- The political pendulum has shifted toward the center in recent years.
- Fashion trends move like a pendulum, with styles returning every few decades.