wavering
Americanadjective
-
fluttering, swaying to and fro, tottering, or reeling.
To make things more bearable, he imagined she was close by—just beyond that wavering curtain.
The two stumbling cousins came to a wavering halt, leaning on each other.
-
flickering or quivering, as light.
In the wavering light of the torch, the old warrior's face showed fond concern.
-
becoming unsteady; beginning to fail or give way.
It wasn’t just the physical pain I suffered, it was the loss of self, the wavering sense of identity.
-
shaking or trembling, as the hands or voice.
"Our thoughts are with our colleague’s family, friends, and loved ones," said the anchorman with a wavering voice.
-
feeling or showing doubt, indecision, etc.; vacillating.
The disciplined mind is strong and effective, while the constantly wavering mind is weak and ineffective.
-
fluctuating or varying.
The participants braved the wavering March weather for an engaging and action-packed day.
noun
-
waverings
plural
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the act or condition of becoming unsteady, vacillating, faltering, or fluctuating.
Any wavering of attention is very likely to result in an error.
-
the act or condition of flickering, swaying, tottering, or fluttering.
There was a wavering in the cracked screen.
-
the act or condition of shaking or trembling, as the hands or voice.
Her fear began to manifest itself in a minute trembling of her hand and a slight wavering of her voice.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of wavering
First recorded in 1350–1400; waver 1 ( def. ) + -ing 2 ( def. ) for the adjective senses; waver 1 ( def. ) + -ing 1 ( def. ) for the noun senses
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:
The Apple growth and profit machine is wavering, and the boost from price increases might not be enough to keep it going at historic rates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
The Apple growth machine is wavering, but price increases enabled the company to come in just ahead of Wall Street’s expectations in its September quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
Kardashian matriarch and “momager” extraordinaire Kris Jenner has once again removed her iconic Hidden Hills, Calif., mansion from the market—after wavering over the sale.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
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
The geese flew south in long, wavering V’s.
From "My Brother Sam is Dead" by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
Green waverings play on the high gray stone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2013
In Nehru's own waverings and hesitations these past weeks, his most determined opponents have been the Indian press and Indian students.
From Time Magazine Archive
If there were any waverings within the military leadership after the U.S. decision, they failed to show.
From Time Magazine Archive
Unruffled by blasts from Buenos Aires' Luna Park and the University of Chicago's Midway, unshaken by waverings and defections in the ranks of his own followers.
From Time Magazine Archive
Had it been allowable entertainment, had there been no pain to her friend, or reproach to herself, in the waverings of Harriet’s mind, Emma would have been amused by its variations.
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
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