Meaning of waver in English

Table of contents

Verb
waver
Etymology
Middle English: from Old Norse vafra‘flicker’, of Germanic origin. Compare with wave
Definitions
1. pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
Examples
- « Authorities hesitate to quote exact figures »
Derived terms
2. be unsure or weak
Examples
- « Their enthusiasm is faltering »
Derived terms
3. move hesitatingly, as if about to give way
Derived terms
4. move or sway in a rising and falling or wavelike pattern
Examples
- « the line on the monitor vacillated »
Derived terms
5. move back and forth very rapidly
Examples
- « the candle flickered »
Derived terms
6. sway to and fro
Derived terms
- flicker
- flutter
7. give off unsteady sounds, alternating in amplitude or frequency
Derived terms
- quaver
Noun
waver
Definitions
1. someone who communicates by waving
Derived terms
2. the act of pausing uncertainly
Examples
- « there was a hesitation in his speech »
Derived terms
3. the act of moving back and forth
Derived terms

Famous quotes

« I'm opinionated. I always stick to my design plan. I don't waver. »
Douglas Wilson
« We will not waver we will not tire we will not falter, and we will not fail. Peace and Freedom will prevail. »
George W. Bush
« In a general way, I want to be a kind of flag-waver, bunting hanger-up, drum-beater, you name it, for poetry. »
Andrew Motion
« But in its final creation it was not the part of the Father's power to fail as though exhausted. It was not the part of His wisdom to waver in a needful matter through poverty of counsel. »
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola
« When you're younger, your inspiration is there. As you get older, it tends to waver. Once you find it - I found it again - that's where you can draw from. That's where you draw your strength from. »
Elvis Stojko