waver

waver
waver1
—waverer, n. —waveringly, adv.
/way"veuhr/, v.i.
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.
n.
8. an act of wavering, fluttering, or vacillating.
[1275-1325; ME (see WAVE, -ER6); c. dial. G wabern to move about, ON vafra to toddle]
Syn. 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
/way"veuhr/, n.
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.
[1550-60; WAVE + -ER1]

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Waver — Wa ver, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Wavered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Wavering}.] [OE. waveren, from AS. w[ae]fre wavering, restless. See {Wave}, v. i.] [1913 Webster] 1. To play or move to and fro; to move one way and the other; hence, to totter; to reel; to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Waver — Wa ver, n. [From {Wave}, or {Waver}, v.] A sapling left standing in a fallen wood. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • waver — (v.) late 13c., weyveren, to show indecision, probably related to O.E. wæfre restless, wavering, from P.Gmc. *wæbraz (Cf. M.H.G. wabern to waver, O.N. vafra to hover about ), a frequentative form from the root of WAVE (Cf. wave) (v.). Related:… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Waver — bezeichnet: einen Anhänger der Wave Szene, einer Musik und Jugendbewegung im Surfsport den Wellenreiter, auch Wave Rider genannt ein vibratorähnliches Sexspielzeug, dessen Durchmesser sich wellenartig verändert den niederländischen Namen der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • waver — index alternate (fluctuate), beat (pulsate), doubt (hesitate), fluctuate, hesitate, misdoubt, oscill …   Law dictionary

  • waver — vb 1 fluctuate, oscillate, pendulate, vibrate, *swing, sway, undulate Analogous words: flicker, flutter, hover, *flit, flitter: quiver, quaver, tremble, *shake 2 falter, *hesitate, vacillate Analogous words: balk, bogg …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • waver — [v] shift back and forth; be indecisive be irresolute, be unable to decide*, blow hot and cold*, change, deliberate, dilly dally*, dither, falter, flicker, fluctuate, halt, hedge, hem and haw*, hesitate, oscillate, palter, pause, pussyfoot… …   New thesaurus

  • waver — ► VERB 1) move quiveringly; flicker. 2) begin to weaken; falter. 3) be indecisive. DERIVATIVES waverer noun wavery adjective. ORIGIN Old Norse, flicker …   English terms dictionary

  • waver — [wā′vər] vi. [ME waveren, freq. of waven, to WAVE] 1. to swing or sway to and fro; flutter 2. to show doubt or indecision; find it hard, or be unable, to decide; vacillate 3. to become unsteady; begin to give way; falter 4. to tremble; quaver:… …   English World dictionary

  • Waver — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Sommaire 1 Bataille 2 Hydronyme 3 Toponyme …   Wikipédia en Français

  • waver — UK [ˈweɪvə(r)] / US [ˈweɪvər] verb [intransitive] Word forms waver : present tense I/you/we/they waver he/she/it wavers present participle wavering past tense wavered past participle wavered 1) if a person wavers, they are not certain about what… …   English dictionary

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