waver Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun someone who communicates by waving
  2. noun the act of pausing uncertainly
    falter; faltering; hesitation.
    • there was a hesitation in his speech
  3. noun the act of moving back and forth
    flicker; flutter.
  4. verb pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
    hesitate; waffle.
    • Authorities hesitate to quote exact figures
  5. verb be unsure or weak
    falter.
    • Their enthusiasm is faltering
  6. verb move hesitatingly, as if about to give way
    falter.
  7. verb move or sway in a rising and falling or wavelike pattern
    vacillate; fluctuate.
    • the line on the monitor vacillated
  8. verb move back and forth very rapidly
    flitter; flicker; quiver; flutter.
    • the candle flickered
  9. verb sway to and fro
    weave.
  10. verb give off unsteady sounds, alternating in amplitude or frequency
    quaver.

WordNet


Wa"ver intransitive verb
Etymology
OE. waveren, from AS. wæfre wavering, restless. See Wave, v. i.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Wavered ; present participle & verbal noun Wavering
Definitions
  1. To play or move to and fro; to move one way and the other; hence, to totter; to reel; to swing; to flutter.
    With banners and pennons wavering with the wind. Ld. Berners.
    Thou wouldst waver on one of these trees as a terror to all evil speakers against dignities. Sir W. Scott.
  2. To be unsettled in opinion; to vacillate; to be undetermined; to fluctuate; as, to water in judgment.
    Let us hold fast . . . without wavering. Heb. x. 23.
    In feeble hearts, propense enough before To waver, or fall off and join with idols. Milton.
    Syn. -- To reel; totter; vacillate. See Fluctuate.
Wa"ver noun
Etymology
From Wave, or Waver, v.
Definitions
  1. A sapling left standing in a fallen wood. Prov. Eng. Halliwell.

Webster 1913