waver

[ wey-ver ]

/ ˈweɪ vər /

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See synonyms for: waver / wavered / wavering on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

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.

to shake or tremble, as the hands or voice: Her voice wavered.

to feel or show doubt, indecision, etc.; vacillate: He wavered in his determination.

(of things) to fluctuate or vary: Prices wavered.

to totter or reel: The earth quaked and the tower wavered.

noun

an act of wavering, fluttering, or vacillating.

OTHER WORDS FOR waver

4 quiver.

See synonyms for waver on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of waver

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, -er⁶

synonym study for waver

5. 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 WORDS FROM waver

wa·ver·er, nounwa·ver·ing·ly, adverbnon·wa·ver·ing, adjectiveun·wa·vered, adjective

un·wa·ver·ing, adjectiveun·wa·ver·ing·ly, adverb

Words nearby waver

wave number, wave-off, wave of the future, wave-particle duality, wave power, waver, Waverley, Waves, wave speed, wave tank, wave theory

Other definitions for waver (2 of 2)

waver²

[ wey-ver ]

/ ˈweɪ vər /

noun

a person who waves or causes something to wave: Election time brings out the wavers of flags and haranguers of mobs.

a person who specializes in waving hair.

something, as a curling iron, used for waving hair.

Origin of waver

First recorded in 1550–60; wave + -er¹

How to use waver in a sentence

This waver goes up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit with instant heat recovery to apply an even temperature to your tresses.
Best curling iron: Hair styling tools to create the curls you seek no matter your hair type|Irena Collaku|August 12, 2021|Popular-Science
But no sooner was the 40-year-old activist out of U.S. hands than he began to waver.
Has Hillary Clinton Salvaged Deal to Bring Chen to U.S. Temporarily?|Howard Kurtz|May 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The leading tendency here is not toward openness: People waver between frank fascism and latent xenophobia.
J. M.G. Le Clézio on His Birthplace|Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio|April 6, 2011|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.
How Spitzer Could Have Survived|Allan Dodds Frank|March 8, 2010|DAILY BEAST

But that had no appreciable effect on military performance until the top leadership itself began to waver and retreat.
The Decade's First Revolution?|Gary Sick|January 2, 2010|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.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
He was rather gratified than otherwise to hear that Mr. Puffin had begun to waver in his ideas about celibacy.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume II (of 3)|Charles James Wills
Lindsay seemed to waver; her glance went near enough to him to show her that his face had a red tinge of embarrassment.
Hilda|Sarah Jeanette Duncan
She drew back from me a little as I came; but her eyes did not waver from mine, and these lured me forward.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Volume XXI|Robert Louis Stevenson
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!
The Way of a Man|Emerson Hough

British Dictionary definitions for waver

waver

/ (ˈweɪvə) /

verb (intr)

to be irresolute; hesitate between two possibilities

to become unsteady

to fluctuate or vary

to move back and forth or one way and another

(of light) to flicker or flash

noun

the act or an instance of wavering

Derived forms of waver

waverer, nounwavering, adjectivewaveringly, adverb

Word Origin for waver

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

waver

OTHER WORDS FOR waver

Origin of waver

synonym study for waver

OTHER WORDS FROM waver

Words nearby waver

Other definitions for waver (2 of 2)

Origin of waver

Words related to waver

How to use waver in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for waver

Derived forms of waver

Word Origin for waver