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View synonyms for

waver

1

[ wey-ver ]

verb (used without object)

  1. to sway to and fro; flutter:

    Foliage wavers in the breeze.

  2. to flicker or quiver, as light:

    A distant beam wavered and then disappeared.

  3. become unsteady; begin to fail or give way:

    When she heard the news her courage wavered.

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

    Her voice wavered.

    Synonyms:

  5. to feel or show doubt, indecision, etc.; vacillate:

    He wavered in his determination.

  6. (of things) to fluctuate or vary:

    Prices wavered.

  7. to totter or reel:

    The earth quaked and the tower wavered.



noun

  1. an act of wavering, fluttering, or vacillating.

waver

2

[ wey-ver ]

noun

  1. a person who waves or causes something to wave:

    Election time brings out the wavers of flags and haranguers of mobs.

  2. a person who specializes in waving hair.
  3. something, as a curling iron, used for waving hair.

waver

/ ˈɱɪə /

verb

  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. (of light) to flicker or flash
“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

noun

  1. the act or an instance of wavering
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈɲԲ, adjective
  • ˈɲԲly, adverb
  • ˈɲ, noun
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Other Word Forms

  • ɲ·· noun
  • ܲ·ɲ· adjective
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Word History and Origins

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”; wave, -er 6

Origin of waver2

First recorded in 1550–60; wave + -er 1
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Word History and Origins

Origin of waver1

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

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.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

At no point, Clippers guard Norman Powell maintained, did he waver in his belief in himself.

From

Talley underscored inconsistencies in the son’s account, including Phillip wavering on his claim that he saw his father fire the gun, and at one point saying he grabbed his replica sword only after the shooting.

From

Rising costs, planning delays and difficulty securing long-term funding meant backers pulled out, and so as public investment wavered, the vision began to fade.

From

Asian stocks, which saw their worst drop in decades on Monday after the Trump administration didn't waver, recovered slightly on Tuesday.

From

But over the course of the novel, the narrator’s certainty wavers, and they begin to recognize that, fundamentally, they are angry about all the same things their dad is.

From

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