1
as in to hesitate
to show uncertainty about the right course of action
William Lloyd Garrison never once faltered in his demand that slavery be unconditionally abolished
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to tremble
to swing unsteadily back and forth or from side to side
the cut tree seemed to falter for a moment before crashing to the ground
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of falter
Brown is likely a lock unless his usual consistency falters in the long program on Saturday.
—
Lillian Karabaic, NPR, 9 Jan. 2026
Despite immense effort, no one has been able to come up with a situation where the Navier-Stokes equations falter.
—Quanta Magazine, 9 Jan. 2026
And even the most empathetic and loving autism-adjacent artists can falter sometimes, whether in their portrayals or the discussions around them.
—Sarah Kurchak, Time, 9 Jan. 2026
Beset by gangs and guns, the Haçienda faltered in the ’90s despite clever-sounding schemes such as replacing the club’s security with the gangsters themselves.
—Boris Kachka, The Atlantic, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for falter
Lillian Karabaic, NPR, 9 Jan. 2026
Despite immense effort, no one has been able to come up with a situation where the Navier-Stokes equations falter.
—Quanta Magazine, 9 Jan. 2026
And even the most empathetic and loving autism-adjacent artists can falter sometimes, whether in their portrayals or the discussions around them.
—Sarah Kurchak, Time, 9 Jan. 2026
Beset by gangs and guns, the Haçienda faltered in the ’90s despite clever-sounding schemes such as replacing the club’s security with the gangsters themselves.
—Boris Kachka, The Atlantic, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for falter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for falter
Verb
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Survey respondents shared multiple ways that unemployment can have a negative impact including cancelling dates for financial reasons and hesitating to even ask someone out at all.—
Gili Malinsky,
CNBC,
13 Jan. 2026
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As investors watched closely, even Republicans who hesitated to condemn the probe were careful to extol the virtues of an independent central bank.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The kind of person who trembles at watermarks is not the sort of person who dares to put marble in the dishwasher.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
16 Oct. 2025
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The Maine trembled and angled up, then listed to port, throwing him from his chair.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This fall, after a historic bull run, markets started to wobble—in part due to fears of an AI bubble.—
Julia Black,
Vanity Fair,
8 Jan. 2026
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Picture a wobbling human jenga tower.—
Outside Online,
Outside Online,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The crime was not the only one that shook the state over the weekend.—
Emily Hallas,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Jan. 2026
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Isabel initially thought the sounds shaking her surroundings were thunder.—
Brian Bennett,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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His ability to apply them has wavered.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
8 Jan. 2026
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The forecast models are wavering a bit on when the rain will arrive but the trend is more toward Friday night and Saturday.—
Bill Kelly,
CBS News,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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East Denver sushi fans shuddered in late December when Okinawa Japanese Cuisine, a mainstay on Colfax Avenue since 2010, closed and boarded up its doors with brown paper.—
Miguel Otárola,
Denver Post,
8 Jan. 2026
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The deference with which that body has bowed to presidential fiat would make Page and William Maclay shudder.—
Jake Lundberg,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Falter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/falter. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
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