falter

Meaning

Noun

An unsteadiness.

Verb

1. To waver or be unsteady; to weaken or trail off.
2. (ambitransitive) To stammer; to utter with hesitation, or in a weak and trembling manner.
3. To fail in distinctness or regularity of exercise; said of the mind or of thought.
4. To stumble.
5. (figuratively) To lose faith or vigor; to doubt or abandon (a cause).
6. To hesitate in purpose or action.
7. To cleanse or sift, as barley.

Synonyms

hesitate

waver

stumble

stammer

stutter

totter

stagger

bumble

vacillate

wobble

flounder

blunder

lurch

reel

hesitation

mumble

weaken

wince

fluctuate

be undecided

faltering

rock

🪨

get stuck

stop short

splutter

sputter

flinch

dilly dally

hang back

recoil

stagnate

stumblingly

suspect

swag

sway

teeter

tergiversate

vacillatingly

waffle

🧇

be uncertain

go astray

hem and haw

make mistakes

show reluctance

be sluggish

hesitate to say

be stagnant

be sedimented

be precipitated

talk excitedly

Translations

hésiter

schwanken

vacilar

vacillare

bégayer

titubear

barguigner

balbettare

wankelen

gaguejar

stammeln

weifelen

bafouiller

zaudern

τραυλίζω

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈfɒl.tə(ɹ)/

Etymology

Cognate with Old Norse: faltrask

In summary

From Middle English falteren (“to stagger; be unsteady, tremble, quiver; to stammer; be entangled, get caught”), further origin unknown. Probably from a North Germanic source such as Old Norse faltrask (“to hesitate, be puzzled, be encumbered”). May also be a frequentative of fold, although the change from d to t is unusual.