Meaning & use
waver
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Meanings
verbintransitive
To be unable to make up your mind, or to lose confidence in a decision or belief.
Grammar: No object; often followed by between or in: waver between two offers, waver in your support.
Patterns
- waver between something and something
- waver in something
- waver over something
She wavered between taking the job abroad and staying near her family.
The senator never wavered in her opposition to the bill.
He wavered for a moment at the door before knocking.
verbintransitive
To move or shine unsteadily, shaking slightly from side to side or flickering.
Grammar: No object; usually describes a light, voice or shape: the candle wavered.
The candle flame wavered in the draft.
His voice wavered as he read the letter aloud.
The tightrope walker wavered, then regained her balance.
Word forms
| third person singular | wavers |
|---|---|
| past tense | wavered |
| past participle | wavered |
| -ing form | wavering |
Common combinations
- waver between
- Voters wavered between the two candidates until the final week.
- never waver
- The coach never wavered in her belief in the team.
- waver in your commitment
- Few members wavered in their commitment to the cause.
- voice wavers
- Her voice wavered when she spoke about her grandmother.
- waver slightly
- The flag wavered slightly in the breeze.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hesitate
- Hesitate means pausing before acting, while waver means going back and forth over a choice or losing resolve.
- falter
- Falter suggests losing strength or confidence and slowing down, whereas waver is more about unsteadiness or indecision.
- flicker
- Flicker applies only to light or a faint movement, while waver can also describe decisions and voices.
- dither
- Dither is informal and critical, suggesting annoying, fussy indecision.
Opposites
Word family
- wavering adjective
- unsteady or undecided
- waverer noun
- a person who cannot decide or keeps changing their mind
- waveringly adverb
- in an unsteady or hesitant way
Commonly confused: waver or waiver? waver or wave?
waver vs waiver
A waiver is a document or decision that gives up a right or rule, and is pronounced the same way but is a noun.
waver vs wave
To wave is to move your hand or something else back and forth deliberately, while waver is about unsteady movement or indecision.
Practice
Which sentence uses waver in the sense of being indecisive?
Choose one answer.
Wavering between two options means being unable to choose. The flag sentence is the physical sense, and the other two use waver incorrectly with an object.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “waver”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.