waver1

[wey-ver] /ˈweɪ vər/
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.
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
8.
an act of wavering, fluttering, or vacillating.
Origin
1275-1325; Middle English (see wave, -er6); cognate with dialectal German wabern to move about, Old Norse vafra to toddle
Related forms
waverer, noun
waveringly, adverb
nonwavering, adjective
unwavered, adjective
unwavering, adjective
unwaveringly, adverb
Synonyms
4. quiver. 5. 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.

waver2

[wey-ver] /ˈweɪ vər/
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.
Origin
1550-60; wave + -er1
Examples from the web for waver
  • Juarez did not waver in his public support for the stock.
  • Never impose a candidate on a department without its consent, and never waver from the principle of merit.
  • Hart also refuses to waver from his initial vision, and this has limited his scope.
  • But that's no excuse for allowing our attention to waver or letting boredom get the better of us at any stage of the process.
  • And they fear that if that determination is perceived to waver they will be left alone, facing a threat they dare not live with.
  • It still rings true even while our financial markets waver.
  • In polls voters waver between opposition and support depending on how the question is asked.
  • Her light voice is attractive at mezzo-forte level, but it has a waver in it and can turn edgy when pushed.
  • Rio's body into shapes that waver and falter with a compelling, melting-into-the-air kind of laxity.
  • Those questions have gotten louder as key measures of the economy and investor sentiment waver.
British Dictionary definitions for waver

waver

/ˈweɪvə/
verb (intransitive)
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
noun
6.
the act or an instance of wavering
Derived Forms
waverer, noun
wavering, adjective
waveringly, adverb
Word Origin
C14: from Old Norse vafra to flicker; related to German wabern to move about
Word Origin and History for waver
v.

late 13c., weyveren, "to show indecision," probably related to Old English wæfre "restless, wavering," from Proto-Germanic *wæbraz (cf. Middle High German wabern "to waver," Old Norse vafra "to hover about"), a frequentative form from the root of wave (v.). Related: Wavered; wavering.

Slang definitions & phrases for waver

waver

Related Terms

flag-waver, skivvy-waver