waver

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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.

wa·ver

(wā′vər)

intr.v. wa·vered, wa·ver·ing, wa·vers

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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]

waver

Past participle: wavered
Gerund: wavering

Imperative
waver
waver

Present
I waver
you waver
he/she/it wavers
we waver
you waver
they waver

Preterite
I wavered
you wavered
he/she/it wavered
we wavered
you wavered
they wavered

Present Continuous
I am wavering
you are wavering
he/she/it is wavering
we are wavering
you are wavering
they are wavering

Present Perfect
I have wavered
you have wavered
he/she/it has wavered
we have wavered
you have wavered
they have wavered

Past Continuous
I was wavering
you were wavering
he/she/it was wavering
we were wavering
you were wavering
they were wavering

Past Perfect
I had wavered
you had wavered
he/she/it had wavered
we had wavered
you had wavered
they had wavered

Future
I will waver
you will waver
he/she/it will waver
we will waver
you will waver
they will waver

Future Perfect
I will have wavered
you will have wavered
he/she/it will have wavered
we will have wavered
you will have wavered
they will have wavered

Future Continuous
I will be wavering
you will be wavering
he/she/it will be wavering
we will be wavering
you will be wavering
they will be wavering

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been wavering
you have been wavering
he/she/it has been wavering
we have been wavering
you have been wavering
they have been wavering

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been wavering
you will have been wavering
he/she/it will have been wavering
we will have been wavering
you will have been wavering
they will have been wavering

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been wavering
you had been wavering
he/she/it had been wavering
we had been wavering
you had been wavering
they had been wavering

Conditional
I would waver
you would waver
he/she/it would waver
we would waver
you would waver
they would waver

Past Conditional
I would have wavered
you would have wavered
he/she/it would have wavered
we would have wavered
you would have wavered
they would have wavered

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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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

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.

Translations

يَتَرَدَّد، يَتَذَبْذَب، يَتأرْجَح

vakle

wanken

balancer barguigner frémir frissonner hésiter

ingadozik

flökta; vera á báîum áttum

vacillare esitare ondeggiamento oscillare

būt nestabilamsvārstīties

beven flikkeren flitsen schommelen schudden

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

waver

(= 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

waver

(ˈweivə) verb

to be unsteady or uncertain. He wavered between accepting and refusing.

References in classic literature ?

I don't want to die!" he felt sorry for him and began first to waver and then to weaken.

View in context

He leveled the revolver directly at Billy, whose thumb on the switch did not waver, and they could see the gleaming bullet-tips in the chambers of the cylinder.

This hand seemed a thing apart, self-existent, with no corporeal attachment, and it appeared and disappeared like an apparition as the thumb-pressure wavered on the switch.

View in context

Hence Quasimodo's gratitude was profound, passionate, boundless; and although the visage of his adopted father was often clouded or severe, although his speech was habitually curt, harsh, imperious, that gratitude never wavered for a single moment.

View in context

At such times Jesse Bentley's eyes did not look straight ahead but wavered and seemed to be looking at nothing.

View in context

And Cheese-Face, ready to drop and die, or to stay on his legs and die, a grisly monster out of whose features all likeness to Cheese-Face had been beaten, wavered and hesitated; but Martin sprang in and smashed him again and again.

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He had wavered between half a dozen places; it was pure chance that he had chosen Marvis Bay.

View in context

At first Mary, to whom the offer was passed on, rejected it with hauteur, but presently she wavered, and the upshot was that Irene, looking scornful and anxious, arrived one day with the perambulator.

View in context

My material gave out; incidents failed me; the characters wavered and threatened to perish on my hands.

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Clouds of tobacco smoke rolled and wavered high in air about the dull gilt of the chandeliers.

View in context

These were heavy impressions to struggle against, and brought that melancholy embitterment which is the consequence of all excessive claim: even his religious faith wavered with his wavering trust in his own authorship, and the consolations of the Christian hope in immortality seemed to lean on the immortality of the still unwritten Key to all Mythologies.

View in context

Not a single contender for the vacant Tory leadership has offered her a scintilla of hope they will waver from Theresa May's position on the issue and accede to her request for IndyRef2.

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