WAVERING Synonyms: 149 Similar and Opposite Words

wavering 1 of 3

noun

as in hesitation

a state or an instance of temporary inaction because of uncertainty about the right course of action after a moment's wavering, she accepted his proposal

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

wavering

2 of 3

adjective

as in uncertain

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Dissimilar Words

wavering

3 of 3

verb

present participle of waver

as in hesitating

to show uncertainty about the right course of action he's still wavering about whether to take the job

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in faltering

to swing unsteadily back and forth or from side to side the steel tower wavered for a moment before falling over

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of wavering

Noun

With the traditional clinic system in place, illicit drug dealers could still capitalize on knowing precisely where their target clientele — the vulnerable, the wavering — would gather. — Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 26 Aug. 2026 Off in the distance, the church bell tolled one wavering note, was silent, tolled another. — Literary Hub, 16 July 2026 After his years of national wavering, Volpato’s entrance officially tied him, for the rest of his life, to Australia. — Naaman Zhou, New Yorker, 1 July 2026 And with Trump remaining popular in the state — despite some nationwide wavering over issues including the economy — proximity to the president has been a campaign feature for all of the Republicans vying for the state's top office. — ABC News, 23 June 2026 Throughout it all, Senate Democrats stood united — no wavering, no backing down. — Sam Gringlas, NPR, 27 Mar. 2026 There would be no wavering of any kind on my part this time. — Patrick Albanese As Told To Courtney Crowder, Des Moines Register, 22 Mar. 2026 In this atmosphere, as ProPublica has reported, there’s been widespread wavering on water fluoridation, even in Michigan, where the treatment debuted more than 80 years ago. — Anna Clark, CNN Money, 16 Jan. 2026 Risks to China’s momentum, US reversals and European wavering spell trouble for electric vehicles in the year ahead. — Kyle Stock, Bloomberg, 6 Jan. 2026

Adjective

Sony has also shown a wavering commitment to its digital stores. — Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 1 July 2026 The same engine that nudges one shopper up can hand another a discount to close a wavering sale. — Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 10 June 2026 He was encouraged by his timing and sensed Miller might be wavering, especially after an errant pickoff throw put the go-ahead run 90 feet away. — Katie Woo, New York Times, 20 May 2026 One night, Altman took an Ambien, only to be awakened by his husband, an Australian coder named Oliver Mulherin, who told him that Sutskever was wavering, and that people were telling Altman to speak with the board. — Ronan Farrow, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026 Music is the focal point of each service, with Jeffrey playing guitar and keyboards behind the curtain, singing in a wavering voice reminiscent of Jeff Mangum about the subjects, ideas and feelings that have occupied his mind at various stages of his life. — Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026 But by the time the Trojans had gotten into the pressures of February, the optimism was wavering. — Haley Sawyer, Oc Register, 3 Mar. 2026 Rarely wavering and never giving up. — David Greising, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2026 In his new role, Jejurikar will be tasked with driving sales performance amid a wavering global market. — Vogue Business Team, Vogue, 4 Nov. 2025

Verb

Usually hidden by the glare of our star, the ethereal corona and its pale, wavering streams of plasma are shaped by the sun’s magnetic field. — Claire Cameron & Lee Billings, Scientific American, 12 Aug. 2026 But its machines need replacing, and the Federal Reserve is wavering on spending the money. — Jay L. Zagorsky, The Conversation, 24 July 2026 Wall Street’s support for Netflix is wavering after the streaming platform’s latest results on Thursday failed to ease concerns over slowing growth, with a number of analysts slashing price targets for the stock. — Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 17 July 2026 But after posting their best quarter on record, chipmakers are wavering. — John Towfighi, CNN Money, 9 July 2026 But fans are wavering with Eli Raridon off to the NFL, even with Cooper Flanagan returning and five-star freshman Ian Premer enrolling. — Pete Sampson, New York Times, 26 June 2026 There wasn't any attention wavering out there. — Brenton Blanchet, PEOPLE, 19 June 2026 The roaring bassline slithers beneath a wavering flute note before the floor gives out, and the song begins its fast and furious descent. — Kiana Mickles, Pitchfork, 12 June 2026 Markets also have been wavering from spates of heavy selling of stocks in companies linked to the boom in artificial intelligence. — ABC News, 10 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wavering

Noun

Someone may be ready to build with you, but hesitation, mixed signals, or too many moving pieces could slow the process down.

— Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026
But the full game tape shows those are few and far between — his hesitation and questionable decisions make the lowlights a near-constant.

— Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of hesitation

Adjective

What remains uncertain is how damaging the resolution will be—and for whom.

— MICHAEL PETTIS, Foreign Affairs, 28 Aug. 2026
When markets are uncertain about how central bankers will respond to incoming data, speculation can fill the void, according to a Barclays report last month.

— Matt Egan, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of uncertain

Verb

Know More Saudi Arabia has been working on several measures in a bid to boost trading volumes on the stock exchange and reenergize new stock listings that had been faltering even before the Iran war spooked investors.

— Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2026
The same list of conditions is relevant to the debates about our faltering literacy.

— Christopher Coffman, The Conversation, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of faltering

Adjective

Both Fortune and Harris express having great empathy for the protagonist, who was an insecure girl that had an irresolute boyfriend and made a grave mistake.

— Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 11 June 2026
Where Trump is unrelenting and single-minded, the justices have been inconsistent and unpredictable, and therefore appear irresolute.

— Noah Feldman, Twin Cities, 24 Dec. 2025

Definition of irresolute

Verb

The thunder sound was a combination of wobbling window of shades of the ’40s to achieve that old school thunder sound that was layered in with some newer thunderclap sounds.

— Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 19 Aug. 2026
Which is troubling for buildings like 432 Park Avenue, a skyscraper made using white concrete that features heavily in The History of Concrete, wobbling in the wind.

— Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of wobbling

Noun

Dexter grapples with killing her, but Rudy eventually can’t handle Dexter’s hesitance and takes the knife into his own hands—and nearly plunges it into Debra’s chest before Dexter stops him.

— EW Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 25 June 2026
That hesitance in the Republican Party coexists with palpable relief that there’s a ceasefire agreement in the Middle East after months of strikes on Iran.

— Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 15 June 2026

Definition of hesitance

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“Wavering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wavering. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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