halting

[ hawl-ting ]

/ ˈhɔl tɪŋ /

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See synonyms for: halting / haltingly on Thesaurus.com

adjective

faltering or hesitating, especially in speech.

faulty or imperfect.

limping or lame: a halting gait.

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ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

true

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Origin of halting

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at halt², -ing²

OTHER WORDS FROM halting

halt·ing·ly, adverbhalt·ing·ness, nounun·halt·ing, adjectiveun·halt·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use halting in a sentence

Michigan appears to be taking the first halting steps toward reform, recently becoming the 47th state to ban automatically charging 17-year-olds as adults.
Judges Are Locking Up Children for Noncriminal Offenses Like Repeatedly Disobeying Their Parents and Skipping School|by Jodi S. Cohen and Duaa Eldeib|December 22, 2020|ProPublica
He is goofy, he speaks haltingly from the heart, and from scripts.
Prince Harry Should Be King: The Royal Family’s Ace Card|Tim Teeman|June 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Instead of great leaps forward, it tends to move haltingly in grudging increments.
Find a China Reset Button|Orville Schell|June 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
“Nice meet you,” he said haltingly, in broken English, using my language since I did not speak his.
Iraq War 10th Anniversary: The Teamster|John Kael Weston|March 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST

As the economy has recovered, however haltingly, so has the growth of health care costs.
Health Care Cost Growth Speeds Back Up|Megan McArdle|September 25, 2012|DAILY BEAST
For another, we can remind ourselves how fluidly hate is taught, and how haltingly trust is restored.
Michigan State University Student Has His Mouth Stapled in Vicious Campus Hate Crime|Elisheva Goldberg|August 29, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The brown-skinned, dark-haired man appeared in the entrance of the tent and spoke haltingly in English.
The Gold Trail|Harold Bindloss
She lisped the words in her soft, sweet voice, haltingly, like a little child.
The Fire People|Ray Cummings
"I—I must go to my room, Herr Hauptmann," she murmured haltingly.
The Secret Witness|George Gibbs
An unbalanced sentence goes haltingly and jars; an ambiguous pronoun causes the reader to stumble.
The Age of Erasmus|P. S. Allen
The train moved haltingly, having to wait at sidings for other trains that had the right of way.
Ralph Granger's Fortunes|William Perry Brown

British Dictionary definitions for halting

halting

/ (ˈhɔːltɪŋ) /

adjective

hesitanthalting speech

lame

Derived forms of halting

haltingly, adverbhaltingness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

halting

Origin of halting

OTHER WORDS FROM halting

Words related to halting

How to use halting in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for halting

Derived forms of halting