waver
/ˈweɪvə/US/ˈweɪvəɹ/
waver verb: to swing or wave, especially in the air, wind, etc.; to flutter.
Verb
waver (third-person singular simple present wavers, present participle wavering, simple past and past participle wavered)
- To swing or wave, especially in the air, wind, etc.; to flutter.
- Flowers wavered in the breeze.
- There was neuer ſuche aſſemble made in Bretayne before⸝ for if the frenchmen were puyſſãt [puissant]⸝ in lyke wiſe ſo were the engliſſhmen⸝ and eche parte thought to fyght⸝ for euery day they ſhewed them ſelfe in the felde⸝ with baners and penons waueryng with the wynde⸝ it was great pleaſure to...1523 February 7 (Gregorian calendar), Johan Froyssart [i.e., Jean Froissart], “Howe They within Eureux Yelded Them Selfe Frenche⸝ ⁊ of the Two Hoostes Assembled to Gyder before Saynt Malo”, in Here...
- To move without purpose or a specified destination; to roam, to wander.
- [T]here vvere tvvo Channels, one on the North, another on the South, vvhere through the fiſher-men did vvander and vvauer vp to Norvvitch, and diuers parts of Suffolke and Norfolke, […]1599, [Thomas] Nashe, Nashes Lenten Stuffe, […], London: […] [Thomas Judson and Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and C[uthbert] B[urby] […], →OCLC, page 9
- Michael watched him down the corridor, saw him waver into the dusky street.1924 October, John Galsworthy, “Bicket”, in The White Monkey, London: William Heinemann, published November 1924, →OCLC, part I, page 61
- To sway back and forth, as if about to fall; to reel, to stagger, to totter.
- […] Oza for puttyng his hande to the holy ſhryne⸝ that vvas called Archa federis [the Ark of the Covenant]⸝ whan it was broughte by kyng Dauid frõ [from] the citie of Baba [i.e., Ba'alah or Kiriath-Jearim]⸝ though it were wauerynge and in daunger to fall⸝ yet was he ſtryken of god⸝ and fell deed...1531, Thomas Elyot, “The Moste Cõmodious and Necessary Studies Succedyng Ordinatly the Lesson of Poetes”, in The Boke Named the Governour […], London: […] Tho[mas] Bertheleti, →OCLC, 1st boke, folios...
- The Fins [of a fish] made of griſtly Spokes or Rays connected by Membranes, ſo that they may be contracted or extended like VVomens Fans, and furniſhed vvith Muſcles for motion, ſerve partly for progreſſion, but chiefly to hold the Body upright; vvhich appears in that vvhen they are cut off, it...1691, John Ray, “Of Bodies Endued with a Sensitive Soul, or Animals”, in The Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of the Creation. […], London: […] Samuel Smith, […], →OCLC, pages 141–142
- To begin to weaken or show signs of weakening in resolve; to falter, to flinch, to give way.
- Despite all the terrible things that happened to her, she never wavered from her beliefs.
- The capitayn […], to thentent to ſhewe hymſelfe valiante and not willyng to breake hys othe, neither to wauer frõ [from] hys allegeance, boſted that he would rather dye in the defence then frely yeld the caſtle.a. 1548 (date written), Edward Hall, Richard Grafton, “[The Victorious Actes of Kyng Henry the Fifth.] The .IIII. Yere.”, in The Vnion of the Two Noble and Illustre Famelies of Lancastre & Yorke...
- Synonyms:
- blink
- To feel or show doubt or indecision; to be indecisive between choices; to vacillate.
- […] I ſhall not much vvaver to affirm that thoſe vvords vvhich are made to intimate, as if they forbad all divorce but for adultery […] thoſe vvords tak'n circumſcriptly, […] are as much againſt plain equity, and the mercy of religion, […]1643, J[ohn] M[ilton], The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce: […], London: […] T[homas] P[aine] and M[atthew] S[immons] […], →OCLC, page 34
- Let not that man think that he shall obtain anything from the Lord. What man? Why, he that doubteth or wavereth in his mind, about the truth of the mercy of God in Christ; […]a. 1689 (date written), John Bunyan, “ Of Justification by an Imputed Righteousness; or, No Way to Heaven but by Jesus Christ”, in Henry Stebbing, editor, The Entire Works of John Bunyan, […], volume...
- Synonyms:
- sway
- Of a body part such as an eye or hand, or the voice: to become unsteady; to shake, to tremble.
- His voice wavered when the reporter brought up the controversial topic.
- "No," replied the old man, wavering in his voice, no less than in his manner. "No. Let us go on. I am ready. I am quite ready, Nell."1840 April – 1841 November, Charles Dickens, “Chapter the Forty-fifth”, in The Old Curiosity Shop. A Tale. […], volume II, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1841, →OCLC, page 44
- Of light, shadow, or a partly obscured thing: to flicker, to glimmer, to quiver.
- For I took at once tvvo Triangular Glaſſes, and one of them being kept fixt in the ſame Poſture, that the Iris it projected on the Floor might not VVaver, I caſt on the ſame Floor another Iris vvith the other Priſm, and Moving it too and fro to bring vvhat part of the ſecond Iris I pleas'd, to fall...1664, Robert Boyle, “Experiment XIV”, in Experiments and Considerations Touching Colours. […], London: […] Henry Herringman […], →OCLC, part III (Containing Promiscuous Experiments about Colours)...
- [U]nder the Roman empire, men's notions of mechanical relations became faint, wavered, and disappeared, […]1837, William Whewell, “On the Indistinctiveness of Ideas in the Middle Ages”, in History of the Inductive Sciences, from the Earliest to the Present Times. […], volume I, London: John W[illiam]...
- Chiefly of a quality or thing: to change, to fluctuate, to vary.
- [T]he Englyſhe affaires (as you haue heard) within yͤ realme began to wauer, and waxe variable, whyche cauſed the Engliſhe capitaines, to be of diuerſe opinions.a. 1548 (date written), Edward Hall, Richard Grafton, “[The Troubleous Season of Kyng Henry the Sixt.] The Nynth Yere.”, in The Vnion of the Two Noble and Illustre Famelies of Lancastre & Yorke, […]...
- [D]uring the whole space of time just mentioned, Mr. Benjamin Allen had been wavering between intoxication partial and intoxication complete.1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, “How Mr. Winkle, when He Stepped Out of the Frying-pan, Walked Gently and Comfortably into the Fire”, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club...
- Followed by from: to deviate from a course; to stray, to wander.
- And gif it be ane beaſt, ane buke being placed betvvix the hornes of the beaſt, or vpon his forehead, and he and his vvitnes, at the leaſt tvva, ſall ſvveare that, that beaſt did vvaver avvay from him, as he affirmed in his clame; and that he vvas not given, nor ſauld be him to any man, in any...[1609, “Quoniam Attachiamenta. Or The Baron Lawes. Chap[ter] 10. Challenge of Cattell.”, in John Skene, transl., Regiam Majestatem. The Auld Lawes and Constitutions of Scotland, […] (in Scots)...
- Of the wits: to become confused or unsteady; to reel.
- I am hungry, and I am vveary, and I cannot find him. / Keep my wits heaven, I feele 'em wavering, / O God my head.c. 1621, John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, “The Pilgrim”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act III, scene iii...
- To cause (someone or something) to move back and forth.
- [I]f the Admirall ſhall happen to hull in the night: then to make a wauering light ouer his other light, wauering the light vpon a pole.1589, Edward Haies [i.e., Hayes], “A Report of the Voyage and Successe thereof, Attempted in the Yeere of Our Lord 1583, by Sir Humfrey Gilbert Knight, […] [Orders Agreed vpon by the Captaines and...
- A third wauered and wagled his head, like a proud horſe playing with his bridle, or as I haue ſeene ſome fantaſticall ſwimmer, at euerie ſtroke train his chin ſide-long ouer his left ſhoulder.1594, Tho[mas] Nashe, “The Vnfortunate Traueller”, in The Vnfortunate Traueller. Or, The Life of Iacke Wilton, London: […] T. Scarlet for C[uthbert] Burby, […], →OCLC
- To cause (someone) to begin to or show signs of weakening in resolve; also (rare), to weaken in resolve due to (something).
- Th'vnconſtant Barrons, vvauering euery houre, / The fierce encounter of this raging tyde, / No ſtrategem yet ſtrongly policied; […][1596], Michaell Drayton [i.e., Michael Drayton], Mortimeriados. The Lamentable Ciuell Warres of Edward the Second and the Barrons, London: […] I. R. for Humfry Lownes, […], →OCLC, signature [B4]...
Noun (1)
waver (plural wavers)
- An act of moving back and forth, swinging, or waving; a flutter, a tremble.
- No a bit butterflee on its silent waver, meeting the murmur of the straightforward bee.1826 July, C[hristopher] N[orth] [pseudonym; John Wilson], “Noctes Ambrosianae. No. XXVII.”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume XX, number CXIV, Edinburgh: William Blackwood; London: T[homas]...
- By turns she sat watching the waver of the candles in the draught, and walked to and fro between the bed and the washhand-stand to keep herself warm.1902, Leonard Merrick, chapter IV, in When Love Flies out o’ the Window, London: C[yril] Arthur Pearson […], →OCLC, page 51
- A state of beginning to weaken or showing signs of weakening in resolve; a falter.
- I hear the soldiers talk as I ride by, "There goes the old man. All's right." Not a waver, doubt, or hesitation when I order, and men march to certain death without a murmur if I call on them, because they know I value their lives as much as my own.1864 December 31 (date written), [William Tecumseh] Sherman, chapter VI, in Rachel Sherman Thorndike, editor, The Sherman Letters: Correspondence between General and Senator Sherman from 1837 to...
- A state of feeling or showing doubt or indecision; a vacillation.
- "Does she mean to accept him?" asked Travice. "Well, she's on the waver. She does not dislike him, and she does not particularly like him. He's too old for her; he's twenty years older than Liz; but it's her first offer, and young women are apt to think when they get that, they had better accept...1865, Mrs. Henry Wood [i.e., Ellen Wood], “The Tables Turned”, in Mildred Arkell. […], volume III, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 263
Noun (2)
waver (plural wavers)
- One who waves their arms, or causes something to swing or wave.
- I felt encouraged by all the enthusiastic wavers in the crowd.
- The Fourth of July brings out all the flag wavers.
- A person who specializes in treating hair to make it wavy.
- A tool used to make hair wavy.
- In full waver roller: a roller which places ink on the inking table of a printing press with a back and forth, waving motion.
- Synonym of waverer (“one who feels or shows doubt or indecision; a vacillator”).
- [N]o waver in Judgment, have I, though Gods mercy, ever been; but a conſtant aſſertor of, and ſufferer for my ſatisfiedneſs in, and adheſion to, the piety and probity of my breeding and belief, vvhich vvas ever, yet is, and I hope, through Gods grace, to death ſhall be, in point of Religion...1666 October 30 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Edward Waterhous[e], “To His Noble Friend and Kinsman, Sr. Edwarde Turno[u]r, Knight; Speaker of the Honorable House of Commons in this Present...
- Synonyms:
- waverer
Noun (3)
waver (plural wavers)
- A sapling or other young tree left standing when other trees around it have been felled.
- It is a very ordinary Copſe vvhich vvill not afford three or four Firſts, that is, Beſts; fourteen Seconds; tvvelve Thirds; eight VVavers, &c. according to vvhich proportions the ſizes of young Trees in Copſing are to ſucceed one another.1664, J[ohn] E[velyn], “Of Copses”, in Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-trees and the Propagation of Timber in His Majesties Dominions. […], London: […] Jo[hn] Martyn, and Ja[mes] Allestry, printers...
- In some parts of this County, considerable pains seem to be taken in the use of the Falling Axe[…], to form the stools or stumps left in the ground in Spring Woods, rather round at top, to shoot off the wet and preserve the butt from decay, where young shoots or wavers are expected from them: […]...1813, John Farey, Sen., “Woods and Plantations”, in General View of the Agriculture and Minerals of Derbyshire; […], volume II, London: […] B. M‘Millan, […]; sold by G[eorge] and W[illiam] Nicol...
Proper noun capitalized: Waver
Waver
- A river in northern Cumbria, England, which flows into the Solway Firth.
waver meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
waver in Tamil
- to sway back and forth, as if about to fall — see also reel, stagger, totter
- தள்ளாடு taḷḷāṭu
- to feel or show doubt or indecision; to be indecisive between choices — see also vacillate
- தயங்கு tayaṅku, அலை alai
- chiefly of a quality or thing: to change, to fluctuate, to vary — see also change, fluctuate, vary
- அலை alai
waver in Urdu
- ڈگمگانا, ہچکچانا, تردد کرنا
waver in Bengali
- দ্বিধা করা, টলমল করা
waver in Malayalam
- അങ്ങോട്ടുമിങ്ങോട്ടും ആടുക, ഇടറുക, സന്ദേഹിക്കുക
More languagesFewer languages
- waver in Kannada
- ತೂರಾಡು, ಅನಿರ್ಧಾರದಲ್ಲಿರು, ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಕಡಮೆಯಾಗು, ಚಂಚಲವಾಗಿರು
- waver in Sanskrit
- घूर्ण् ghūrṇ, भ्रमति bhrámati
Examples of waver in a sentence
- Johnny is such a little waver; everyone who passes by receives his preferred greeting.
- [B]y the red and dusky light of the torches, he could discern a figure wavering and struggling as it hung suspended above the heads of the multitude.1818 July 25, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter VI, in Tales of My Landlord, Second Series, […] (The Heart of...
- [T]hou would'st waver on one of these trees as a terror to all evil speakers against dignities.1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter I, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and...
- From the high tree the blossom wavering fell, / And over them the tremulous isles of light / Slided, they moving under shade: […]1847, Alfred Tennyson, “Part VI”, in The Princess: A Medley, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 124:
- Tom often heard her praying, as she wavered and trembled, and seemed about to fall down.1851 June – 1852 April, Harriet Beecher Stowe, “Cassy”, in Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life among the Lowly, volume I, Boston, Mass.: John...
Synonyms of waver
Forms of waver
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | wavers |
| present participle | wavering |
| past participle | wavered |
| past | wavered |
| second-person singular present (archaic) | waverest |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | waveredst |
| third-person singular present (archaic) | wavereth |
| Noun | |
| plural | wavers |
Origin of waver
The verb is derived from Middle English waveren (“to move back and forth, swing; to move unsteadily, totter; to shake, tremble; to wander; (figurative) to be changeable or unstable; to deviate”), and then possibly: * from Old English (compare Old English wǣfre (“flickering, quivering, wavering; active, nimble (?)”)), related to Old English wafian (“to wave”) from Proto-West Germanic *wabbjan (“to cause to weave; to entangle; to wrap”), from Proto-Germanic *wabjaną (“to cause to weave; to entangle; to wrap”); and/or * from Old Norse vafra (“to move unsteadily, flicker”), probably related to vefa (“to weave”); both from Proto-Germanic *webaną (“to weave”), from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to braid, weave”). Doublet of wave. The noun is derived from the verb.
From wave (verb) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns).
Origin uncertain, possibly from waive (“(obsolete) to disregard, overlook”). According to the Oxford English Dictionary the early forms waiver, wayver, weaver indicate that the word is probably not derived from wave (verb).
Words formed from waver
Words that rhyme with waver
5 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about waver
- What does waver mean?
- Waver means to swing or wave, especially in the air, wind, etc.; to flutter.
- What is waver in Tamil?
- Waver in Tamil is தள்ளாடு (taḷḷāṭu), அலை (alai), தயங்கு (tayaṅku). See Waver meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use waver in a sentence?
- Johnny is such a little waver; everyone who passes by receives his preferred greeting.
- What part of speech is waver?
- Waver can be a verb, a noun or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce waver?
- Waver is pronounced /ˈweɪvə/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of waver?
- The past tense of waver is wavered.
Words near waver in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: waver (page history and authors); Waver (page history and authors); waver (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); waver (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); waver (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); waver (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); घूर्ण् (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-waver.wav.
Cite this entry: “waver.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/waver. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.