waver
1 Americanverb (used without object)
-
wavers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wavered,
past participle, past
-
wavering
present participle
-
to sway to and fro; flutter.
Foliage wavers in the breeze.
-
to flicker or quiver, as light.
A distant beam wavered and then disappeared.
-
become unsteady; begin to fail or give way.
When she heard the news her courage wavered.
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to shake or tremble, as the hands or voice.
Her voice wavered.
- Synonyms:
- quiver
-
to feel or show doubt, indecision, etc.; vacillate.
He wavered in his determination.
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(of things) to fluctuate or vary.
Prices wavered.
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to totter or reel.
The earth quaked and the tower wavered.
noun
verb
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to be irresolute; hesitate between two possibilities
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to become unsteady
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to fluctuate or vary
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to move back and forth or one way and another
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(of light) to flicker or flash
noun
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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waversimple
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waverssimple
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have waveredperfect
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has waveredperfect
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am waveringprogressive
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are waveringprogressive
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is waveringprogressive
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have been waveringperfect progressive
-
has been waveringperfect progressive
Past
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waveredsimple
-
had waveredperfect
-
was waveringprogressive
-
were waveringprogressive
-
had been waveringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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”; see wave, -er 6
Origin of waver2
Explanation
To waver is to move back and forth, like when you waver, one minute thinking you'll stay home, planning to go meet your friends the next, until you finally make your decision. Waver comes from the Old English word wæfre, which means “restless.” When the wind blows, it makes the leaves and flowers waver, or move, in that same direction. A person who wavers is much the same — affected by any influence or change. He or she isn't sure what to do or may be too shy to express a preference until time is just about up and a decision must be made.
Vocabulary lists containing waver
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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List 4
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 6
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“We were not on the same page on offense. The kids didn’t waver and kept fighting.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
Three single-figure scores followed but again England did not waver.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
But President Nixon’s resignation, economic stagnation and the Vietnam War had caused Americans’ faith in government to waver.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
But Ford has said he will not waver until all US tariffs are removed.
From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026
Nydia’s voice was firm; her dark eyes didn’t waver from Sierra’s.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
Walmart stock wavers as fourth-quarter earnings beat expectations but full-year guidance is softer than anticipated.
From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026
My car never tires, panics or wavers; it doesn’t jolt at brake lights or grumble at traffic jams.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
“Investors continue to show low conviction around equities, which I view as a contrarian positive. If conviction wavers easily, then this is a sign that sentiment is not ebullient, ” Lee says.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 17, 2025
Yet no matter how busy he is, Peele’s commitment to craft never wavers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2024
It wavers out of the big top and across the lot, leaving nothing in its wake.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
For all his faults, Mr. Obama never wavered in his view that there is nothing wrong with America that democracy can’t fix.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Through years of typical relationship ups and downs, our attraction to each other has hardly wavered.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
The 69-year-old New Orleans native has never wavered in his claims of innocence, insisting since his 1977 arrest that the cops had the wrong guy.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
While playing through the knee injury, and searching for a mechanical adjustment to take some pressure off it, Ohtani’s execution has wavered.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
She was to offer Mrs. Maroney encouragement to follow her husband’s orders in case she wavered.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
And in this strict social classification - known as songbun – the jjaepo belong to the "wavering class", somewhere between the core and hostile classes.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
Tesla stock is wavering amid optimism for Full Self-Driving approval in China following CEO Elon Musk’s visit.
From Barron's ● May 14, 2026
“As we’ve seen over the last couple of years, there’s been wavering confidence that demand will persist in the long run, causing the market to selloff.”
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 30, 2026
He referenced an emotional moment with his family in which he thanked his parents for never wavering.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026
“I’m fine, Mom, really,” I said, voice wavering.
From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
