waver

¹

[wey-ver]

verb (used without object)

1. to sway to and fro; flutter.

   Foliage wavers in the breeze.

2. to flicker or quiver, as light.

   A distant beam wavered and then disappeared.

3. become unsteady; begin to fail or give way.

   When she heard the news her courage wavered.

4. to shake or tremble, as the hands or voice.

   Her voice wavered.

   Synonyms: quiver

5. to feel or show doubt, indecision, etc.; vacillate.

   He wavered in his determination.

6. (of things) to fluctuate or vary.

   Prices wavered.

7. to totter or reel.

   The earth quaked and the tower wavered.

noun

1. an act of wavering, fluttering, or vacillating.

waver

²

[wey-ver]

noun

1. a person who waves or causes something to wave.

   Election time brings out the wavers of flags and haranguers of mobs.

2. a person who specializes in waving hair.

3. something, as a curling iron, used for waving hair.

waver

/ ˈweɪvə /

verb

1. to be irresolute; hesitate between two possibilities

2. to become unsteady

3. to fluctuate or vary

4. to move back and forth or one way and another

5. (of light) to flicker or flash

noun

1. the act or an instance of wavering

Other Word Forms

• waverer noun
• unwavered adjective
• wavering adjective
• waveringly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of waver¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English waveren, waferen “to totter, swing”; cognate with Middle High German wabern “to waver,” dialectal German wabern “to move about,” Old Norse vafra “to hover about, roam”; wave, -er ⁶

Origin of waver²

First recorded in 1550–60; wave + -er ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of waver¹

C14: from Old Norse vafra to flicker; related to German wabern to move about

Synonym Study

Waver, fluctuate, vacillate refer to an alternation or hesitation between one direction and another. Waver means to hesitate between choices: to waver between two courses of action. Fluctuate suggests irregular change from one side to the other or up and down: The prices of stocks fluctuate when there is bad news followed by good. Vacillate is to make up one's mind and change it again suddenly; to be undecided as to what to do: We must not vacillate but must set a day.

Example Sentences

They can tell themselves he doesn’t really believe that stuff, and he’s not one of those Bible wavers.

From Salon

“And when the confidence is wavering, the execution is off,” Friedman said.

From Los Angeles Times

“We have wavered so much throughout this whole process, because every time we have a fight with the insurance company it’s like reliving the trauma of that night over and over again,” Feltner said.

From Los Angeles Times

And despite renewed opposition, the city hasn’t wavered on its plan.

From Los Angeles Times

For the sake of his health, they were reluctant to waver from it, even when Ohtani had a no-hitter through five his last time out, against the Philadelphia Phillies.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dither 
• falter 
• fluctuate 
• hedge 
• hesitate 
• oscillate 
• pause 
• quiver 
• seesaw 
• shake 
• sway 
• teeter 
• tremble 
• vacillate 
• vary 
• waffle 
• wobble