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

Derived Forms

• ˈwaveringly, adverb
• ˈwaverer, noun
• ˈwavering, adjective

Other Words From

• wa·ver·er noun
• un·wa·vered adjective

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

Bed HeadWhether you’re a beginner or pro when it comes to hair styling, the Bed Head Wave Artist Deep Waver is easy to use and produces beautiful results.

From Popular-Science

This waver goes up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit with instant heat recovery to apply an even temperature to your tresses.

From Popular-Science

But no sooner was the 40-year-old activist out of U.S. hands than he began to waver.

From The Daily Beast

The leading tendency here is not toward openness: People waver between frank fascism and latent xenophobia.

From The Daily Beast

He would waver…all of that is to me a measure of the fact that he was troubled and it is pretty clear what he was troubled by.

From The Daily Beast

But that had no appreciable effect on military performance until the top leadership itself began to waver and retreat.

From The Daily Beast

He steeled himself, for he had had his experience of woman's wiles; and his faith in masculine supremacy as a habit did not waver.

From Project Gutenberg

He was rather gratified than otherwise to hear that Mr. Puffin had begun to waver in his ideas about celibacy.

From Project Gutenberg

Lindsay seemed to waver; her glance went near enough to him to show her that his face had a red tinge of embarrassment.

From Project Gutenberg

She drew back from me a little as I came; but her eyes did not waver from mine, and these lured me forward.

From Project Gutenberg

But now, to my surprise and horror, when I looked into the eye of my monitor, my own eye would not waver nor admit subjection!

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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