haltingly

adverb

as in hesitantly

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

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 haltingly The game started to percolate here, but only haltingly. — Kansas City Star, 15 Feb. 2026 It’s haltingly played, like a child plucking out the notes, to emphasize John’s deep connection to his daughter. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 20 Aug. 2025 Root listens intently and then responds, initially haltingly. — James Wallace, New York Times, 22 May 2026 Fiona’s neighbors get their own thin plots, broadening but not deepening the world of a show that moves haltingly towards a cliffhanger in its scant, 7-episode first season and so presumably means to continue. — Judy Berman, Time, 4 Dec. 2025 In O’Sullivan’s story these two come together, however haltingly at first, out of necessity for both just to go on and find a semblance of their lives without Callie. — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2026 That test soon divides matter, even for a far from sensitive ear, into what reads well & what reads tamely, haltingly, jerkily, lopsidedly, top-heavily, or otherwise badly. — Ben Yagoda, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025 States have since haltingly rolled out standards for history education, but after 30 years of reform, students’ performance on history exams has slightly declined—just 14 percent are rated proficient. — Yoni Appelbaum, The Atlantic, 8 June 2026 As the world lost its CO2 blanket over this age of mammals, though, and the world chilled, grasslands, having invented a new form of photosynthesis adapted to this drier, lower-CO2 world, haltingly but inexorably took over much of the Earth. — Peter Brannen, Big Think, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for haltingly
  1. hesitantly
  2. tentatively
  3. slowly
Adverb
  • The many attending assistants around her eventually disperse — a little hesitantly because Sam is in the middle of preparing a new show — and the two withdraw to Sam’s cavernous studio.
    — Jake Coyle, Boston Herald, 24 Apr. 2026
  • Only the bravest walked hesitantly toward the well.
    — Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2026
Definition of hesitantly
Adverb
  • His convictions were later overturned, and a new trial has been tentatively set for April 2027.
    — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2026
  • Other structures are scheduled for demolition in the coming weeks, including the powerhouse, with work tentatively to start on July 6, then a water tower shortly afterwards.
    — Addison Wright, Chicago Tribune, 4 July 2026
Definition of tentatively
Adverb
  • Bell’s letter to James and New York MFCU Director Amy Held argues that the unit is moving too slowly on cases and amassing too few indictments and convictions for wrongdoing in the Medicaid system.
    — Ali Swenson, Fortune, 2 July 2026
  • Manganese atoms slowly take the place of some iron, creating a uniform LMFP structure.
    — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 2 July 2026
Definition of slowly

Browse Nearby Words

halting
haltingly
halts
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Haltingly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/haltingly. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All