waver

waver

vacillate; fluctuate; hesitate; falter; sway: She wanted to go, but her doubts made her waver.

Not to be confused with:

waiver – intentional relinquishment of a right; the document that evidences a waiver: She signed a waiver.

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

wa·ver

 (wā′vər)

intr.v. wa·vered, wa·ver·ing, wa·vers

1.

a. To move unsteadily back and forth: The flowers wavered in the breeze. See Synonyms at swing.

b. To move in a certain direction with a swaying or unsteady motion: The child wavered along the hall. Snowflakes wavered down.

2.

a. To exhibit irresolution or indecision; vacillate: They wavered over buying a house.

b. To become unsteady or unsure; falter: His resolve began to waver.

c. To become diverted: She never wavered from her position opposing the war.

3. To change or fluctuate: The weather wavered between sunny and overcast.

4.

a. To tremble or quaver in sound, as of the voice or a musical note.

b. To flicker or glimmer: The door opened, and the light from the candle wavered.

n.

The action of wavering: the waver of the flashlight in the distance.

---

[Middle English waveren; see webh- in Indo-European roots.]

---

wa′ver·er n.

wa′ver·ing·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

waver

(ˈweɪvə)

vb (intr)

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. (General Physics) (of light) to flicker or flash

n

the act or an instance of wavering

[C14: from Old Norse vafra to flicker; related to German wabern to move about]

ˈwaverer n

ˈwavering adj

ˈwaveringly adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

wa•ver¹

(ˈweɪ vər)

v.i.

1. to sway to and fro; flutter.

2. to flicker or quiver, as light.

3. to become unsteady; begin to fail or give way: At the news my courage wavered.

4. to shake or tremble, as the hands or voice.

5. to feel or show doubt, indecision, etc.; vacillate: to waver in one's determination.

6. (of things) to fluctuate or vary.

7. to totter or reel: The tower wavered during the earthquake.

n.

8. an act of wavering; vacillation.

[1275–1325; Middle English; c. Middle High German waberen to move about, Old Norse vafra to toddle]

wa′ver•er, n.

wav•er²

(ˈweɪ vər)

n.

a person or thing that waves.

[1550–60]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

waver

Past participle: wavered
Gerund: wavering

Imperative

waver

waver

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	waver - someone who communicates by waving   communicator - a person who communicates with others
	2.	waver - the act of pausing uncertainly; "there was a hesitation in his speech" falter, faltering, hesitation pause - temporary inactivity
	3.	waver - the act of moving back and forth   flutter, flicker movement, motility, motion, move - a change of position that does not entail a change of location; "the reflex motion of his eyebrows revealed his surprise"; "movement is a sign of life"; "an impatient move of his hand"; "gastrointestinal motility"
Verb	1.	waver - pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness; "Authorities hesitate to quote exact figures" hesitate, waffle dwell on, linger over - delay boggle - hesitate when confronted with a problem, or when in doubt or fear hover, linger - move to and fro; "The shy student lingered in the corner" hover, oscillate, vacillate, vibrate - be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action; "He oscillates between accepting the new position and retirement" falter, waver - be unsure or weak; "Their enthusiasm is faltering"
	2.	waver - be unsure or weak; "Their enthusiasm is faltering" falter hesitate, waffle, waver - pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness; "Authorities hesitate to quote exact figures"
	3.	waver - move hesitatingly, as if about to give way falter move - move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion; "He moved his hand slightly to the right"
	4.	waver - move or sway in a rising and falling or wavelike pattern; "the line on the monitor vacillated" fluctuate, vacillate swing - alternate dramatically between high and low values; "his mood swings"; "the market is swinging up and down" fluctuate - cause to fluctuate or move in a wavelike pattern
	5.	waver - move back and forth very rapidly; "the candle flickered" flicker, flitter, flutter, quiver move back and forth - move in one direction and then into the opposite direction
	6.	waver - sway to and fro       weave sway, swing - move or walk in a swinging or swaying manner; "He swung back"
	7.	waver - give off unsteady sounds, alternating in amplitude or frequency quaver vocalize, voice, vocalise, sound - utter with vibrating vocal chords

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

waver

verb

1. hesitate, dither (chiefly Brit.), vacillate, be irresolute, falter, fluctuate, seesaw, blow hot and cold (informal), be indecisive, hum and haw, be unable to decide, shillyshally (informal), be unable to make up your mind, swither (Scot.) Some military commanders wavered over whether to support the coup.
hesitate determine, resolve, be determined, stand firm, be decisive, be resolute, be of fixed opinion

2. flicker, wave, shake, vary, reel, weave, sway, tremble, wobble, fluctuate, quiver, undulate, totter The shadows of the dancers wavered on the wall.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

waver

verb

1. To move back and forth or from side to side, as if about to fall:

sway, teeter, totter, vacillate, weave, wobble.

2. To be irresolute in acting or doing:

dither, falter, halt, hesitate, pause, shilly-shally, stagger, vacillate, wobble.

3. To change one's attitudes or policies, for example:

swing, vacillate.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

يَتَرَدَّد، يَتَذَبْذَب، يَتأرْجَح

vakle

wanken

balancerbarguignerfrémirfrissonnerhésiter

ingadozik

flökta; vera á báîum áttum

vacillareesitareondeggiamentooscillare

būt nestabilamsvārstīties

bevenflikkerenflitsenschommelenschudden

vakle mellom

bocalamakkararsızlık göstermek

摇晃犹豫不决

waver

[ˈweɪvəʳ] VI

1. (= oscillate) [needle] → oscilar; [flame] → temblar

2. (fig) (= hesitate) → vacilar, dudar (between entre) (= weaken) [courage, support] → flaquear; (= falter) [voice] → temblar
he's beginning to waver → está empezando a vacilar or dudar
his gaze never wavered → no apartó la mirada ni por un momento
she never wavered in her belief → siempre se mantuvo firme en sus creencias

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

waver

[ˈweɪvə^r] vi

(= flicker) [shadow, flame] → vaciller

(= tremble) [voice] → trembler

(= be unsure) [person] → hésiter; [opinion] → être indécis(e); [belief, love] → faiblir
to waver over sth → hésiter sur qch

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

waver

vi

(= quiver) (light, flame, eyes) → flackern; (voice) → zittern

(= weaken) (courage, self-assurance) → wanken, ins Wanken geraten; (support) → nachlassen

(= hesitate) → schwanken (→ between zwischen +dat); if he begins to waver → wenn er ins Schwanken or Wanken gerät; he’s wavering between accepting and … → er ist sich (dat) → darüber unschlüssig, ob er annehmen soll oder …

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

waver

[ˈweɪvəʳ] vi (flame, needle) → oscillare; (voice) → tremare (fig) (hesitate) to waver (between) → tentennare, titubare
she's beginning to waver → comincia a vacillare

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

waver

(ˈweivə) verb

to be unsteady or uncertain. He wavered between accepting and refusing. weifel يَتَرَدَّد، يَتَذَبْذَب، يَتأرْجَح колебая се hesitar váhat wanken vakle αμφιταλαντεύομαιvacilar, titubear kõhklema دودل بودن häilyä hésiter לְהַסֵס डगमगाना posrtati, teturati ingadozik bimbang flökta; vera á báðum áttum esitare ためらう 동요하다 dvejoti, svyruoti svārstīties; būt nestabilam ragu-ragu weifelenvakle mellom chwiać/wahać się رپيدل، ړچيدل، لړ زيدل: په زنګيدو تلل، كاړې واړې تلل: متزلزل كيدل، دوه زړه كيدل hesitar a ezita колебаться váhať omahovati kolebljivac vackla, tveka โซเซ; เอนไปเอนมา kararsızlık göstermek, bocalamak 搖搖晃晃，猶豫不定 вагатися پس و پیش کرنا lưỡng lự 摇晃，犹豫不决

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.