wavering
Americanadjective
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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.
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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:
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
After wavering in early trading, major U.S. stock indexes were mixed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 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
Headlights appeared at the far end of the long street, wavering over the snow.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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
The Lincoln Tunnel reminds him of an extended lavatory wall; there is fascination in the waverings of tin cans, tires and old shoes under a few inches of water.
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
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
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.
