stagger

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verb

Definition of STAGGER

1

to move forward while swaying from side to side <I was so tired last night that I just staggered upstairs to bed without eating dinner>

Synonyms careen, dodder, lurch, reel, teeter, totter, waddle

Related Words rock, roll, seesaw, swag, sway, waver, weave, wobble (also wabble); barge, blunder, clomp, clump, flounder, galumph, lumber, lump, pound, scuff, scuffle, shamble, shuffle, stamp, stomp, stumble, tramp, tromp

2

to show uncertainty about the right course of action <a daunting problem that would make even the most decisive person stagger just a bit>

Synonyms balance, dither, falter, halt, hang back, scruple, shilly-shally, stagger, teeter, vacillate, waver, wobble (also wabble)

Related Words haw, hem; dally, dawdle, delay, linger, pause, procrastinate, wait; back down, chicken (out); consider, debate, deliberate, ponder, weigh; oscillate, sway; equivocate, hedge, pussyfoot, waffle

Near Antonyms decide; budge, stir; advance, continue

Antonyms dive (in), plunge (in)