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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

wavering

2 of 3

adjective

as in uncertain

Related Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar 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 wavering

Noun

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 The straight march of the High Street turned wavering and sly. — Literary Hub, 26 Feb. 2026 Throughout it all, Senate Democrats stood united — no wavering, no backing down. — Sam Gringlas, NPR, 27 Mar. 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 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 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 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, ProPublica, 14 Jan. 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

Adjective

Stocco said in a wavering voice. — Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 23 Oct. 2025 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 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 But by the time the Trojans had gotten into the pressures of February, the optimism was wavering. — Haley Sawyer, Oc Register, 3 Mar. 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 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 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

Verb

There was nothing wavering for them. — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 10 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 In the years since appearing on BGT, Boyle has stayed true to her hairstyle, wavering only slightly in length and color. — Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 29 May 2026 Yields had been down Friday morning, offering some relief, before wavering after oil prices erased their losses and the survey on consumer sentiment showed worsening inflation expectations. — Stan Choe, Fortune, 23 May 2026 Difficulties in fundraising and wavering institutional support led them to establish an independent space, located in a former auto dealership. — Brianna J. Heath, ARTnews.com, 26 May 2026 Porter also may have muddied the waters with progressive supporters by wavering on positions like minimum wage increases, overtime for farmworkers and her support for single-payer health insurance, according to Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions. — Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 3 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wavering

Noun

Some rabbinic readings attribute Lot’s hesitation to leave Sodom to his immoral greed and inordinate wealth.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 July 2026
Her hesitation isn’t about her affection for Tewkesbury but out of fear of losing her identity.

— ABC News, ABC News, 1 July 2026

Definition of hesitation

Adjective

Harvard Health has taken a critical look at Apollo Neuro, and Medscape has warned about uncertain efficacy in at-home vagus stimulation devices.

— Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 3 July 2026
At the edge of an uncertain frontier, the founders organized people, knowledge, and governance in a way that could survive the unknown.

— Ashok N. Srivastava, Fortune, 3 July 2026

Definition of uncertain

Verb

The book does often feel like a recording of a mental jam session, but there is also a sense of being guided by a kind of hesitating yet urgent voice that needs to get things figured out.

— Craig Morgan Teicher, Literary Hub, 1 June 2026
While their rivals started spending significant sums of money as soon as the 2024-25 season finished, Spurs wasted a couple of weeks hesitating about the long-term future of then head coach Ange Postecoglou before replacing him with Thomas Frank.

— David Ornstein, New York Times, 29 May 2026

Definition of hesitating

Noun

Sidewalk safety, a tale of two cities There is no such hesitancy with cities collecting roadway data.

— Wes Marshall, The Conversation, 2 July 2026
The Iranian regime’s apparent hesitancy to resume in-person talks is a significant step back from the high-level talks that took place in Switzerland earlier this month following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the countries.

— Shannon K. Kingston, ABC News, 30 June 2026

Definition of hesitancy

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 plate currently featured front and center, SpaceX, has been wobbling after an underwhelming IPO.

— Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 2 July 2026
Along the way, LePage fills the film with imaginative emotional landmarks from the Island of the Flakes to the Kind Heart Outlet and whimsical visual metaphors, including a wobbling mound of Jell-O that becomes an unlikely symbol of resilience.

— Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 26 June 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

Browse Nearby Words

wavered

wavering

wavers

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

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

Copy Citation

Synonyms of wavering

noun

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on wavering

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

perfunctory

Popular in Grammar & Usage

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 (-)

Popular in Wordplay

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

Popular

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

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes