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Webster 1913 Edition


Waver

Wa′ver

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Wavered
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Wavering
.]
[OE.
waveren
, from AS.
wæfre
wavering, restless. See
Wave
,
Verb.
I.
]
1.
To play or move to and fro; to move one way and the other; hence, to totter; to reel; to swing; to flutter.
With banners and pennons
wavering
with the wind.
Ld. Berners.
Thou wouldst
waver
on one of these trees as a terror to all evil speakers against dignities.
Sir W. Scott.
2.
To be unsettled in opinion; to vacillate; to be undetermined; to fluctuate;
as, to
water
in judgment
.
Let us hold fast . . . without
wavering
.
Heb. x. 23.
In feeble hearts, propense enough before
To
waver
, or fall
off and join with idols
.
Milton.
Syn. – To reel; totter; vacillate. See
Fluctuate
.

Wa′ver

,
Noun.
[From
Wave
, or
Waver
,
Verb.
]
A sapling left standing in a fallen wood.
[Prov. Eng.]
Halliwell.

Webster 1828 Edition


Waver

WAVER

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To play or move to and fro; to move one way and the other.
2.
To fluctuate; to be unsettled in opinion; to vacillate; to be undetermined; as, to waver in opinion; to waver in faith.
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering. Hebrews 10.
3.
To totter; to reel; to be in danger of falling.

WAVER

,
Noun.
A name given to a sapling or young timber tree in England.

Definition 2024


waver

waver

English

Verb

waver (third-person singular simple present wavers, present participle wavering, simple past and past participle wavered)

  1. (intransitive) To sway back and forth; to totter or reel.
    Flowers wavered in the breeze.
    • Ld. Berners
      With banners and pennons wavering with the wind.
    • Sir Walter Scott
      Thou wouldst waver on one of these trees as a terror to all evil speakers against dignities.
  2. (intransitive) To flicker, glimmer, quiver, as a weak light.
  3. (intransitive) To fluctuate or vary, as commodity prices or a poorly sustained musical pitch.
  4. (intransitive) To shake or tremble, as the hands or voice.
    His voice wavered when the reporter brought up the controversial topic.
  5. (intransitive) To falter; become unsteady; begin to fail or give way.
    • 1903, Bill Arp, From the Uncivil War to Date
      ...and that when a man was in the wrong his courage wavered, and his nerves became unsteady, and so he couldn't fight to advantage and was easily overcome.
    • 2014, Jacob Steinberg, "Wigan shock Manchester City in FA Cup again to reach semi-finals", The Guardian, 9 March 2014:
      Although they believe they can overhaul their 2-0 deficit, they cannot afford to be as lethargic as this at Camp Nou, and the time is surely approaching when Manuel Pellegrini's faith in Martín Demichelis wavers.
  6. (intransitive) To be indecisive between choices; to feel or show doubt or indecision; to vacillate.

(Can we add an example for this sense?)

Translations

Noun

waver (plural wavers)

  1. An act of wavering, vacillating, etc.
  2. Someone who waves, enjoys waving, etc.
    I felt encouraged by all the enthusiastic wavers in the crowd.
    The Fourth of July brings out all the flag wavers.
    Johnny is such a little waver; everyone who passes by receives his preferred greeting.
  3. Someone who specializes in waving (hair treatment).
  4. A tool that accomplishes hair waving.
  5. (Britain, dialect, dated) A sapling left standing in a fallen wood.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Halliwell to this entry?)

Translations

See also