1
as in hesitated
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 trembled
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of faltered
Armenia is one of the founding members of the CSTO, but its relationships with the organization and Russia have faltered over the past few years.
—
Mark Temnycky, Forbes.com, 10 May 2026
Everton’s form has faltered in recent weeks.
—Mark Carey, New York Times, 4 May 2026
Where the show faltered last night, however, was in assuming a one-size-fits-all approach to its pop-star-hosting formula.
—Charu Sinha, Vulture, 3 May 2026
The merger, announced about a year ago, faltered for several reasons.
—Roxana Popescu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 May 2026
Julia Vitarello is launching a new effort to scale bespoke medicines after her first startup faltered.
—Meghana Keshavan, STAT, 1 May 2026
Adelman and Murray have both pinpointed it as a critical missing piece when the offense has faltered.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 30 Apr. 2026
Prior generations of large language models faltered when dealing with uncertainty, and in generating a list of possible conditions to check up, what's known as a differential diagnosis.
—Will Stone, NPR, 30 Apr. 2026
Taj Bradley posted his fourth quality start in seven turns for the Twins, allowing only four hits and two walks over seven innings with seven strikeouts before their thin bullpen faltered again.
—CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026
Mark Temnycky, Forbes.com, 10 May 2026
Everton’s form has faltered in recent weeks.
—Mark Carey, New York Times, 4 May 2026
Where the show faltered last night, however, was in assuming a one-size-fits-all approach to its pop-star-hosting formula.
—Charu Sinha, Vulture, 3 May 2026
The merger, announced about a year ago, faltered for several reasons.
—Roxana Popescu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 May 2026
Julia Vitarello is launching a new effort to scale bespoke medicines after her first startup faltered.
—Meghana Keshavan, STAT, 1 May 2026
Adelman and Murray have both pinpointed it as a critical missing piece when the offense has faltered.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 30 Apr. 2026
Prior generations of large language models faltered when dealing with uncertainty, and in generating a list of possible conditions to check up, what's known as a differential diagnosis.
—Will Stone, NPR, 30 Apr. 2026
Taj Bradley posted his fourth quality start in seven turns for the Twins, allowing only four hits and two walks over seven innings with seven strikeouts before their thin bullpen faltered again.
—CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for faltered
Verb
-
The most likely explanation for the wave-off is that, after Barbashev’s dump-in, LaCombe might have hesitated, if only for a fateful moment, while Eichel went hard after the puck.—
Eric Stephens,
New York Times,
5 May 2026
-
Large oil producers have hesitated to make long-term capital decisions based on a potentially short-term war.—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
Minnesota found its groove in the fourth quarter, while San Antonio’s legs wobbled.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
5 May 2026
-
If everyone succeeded, the box got shorter for the next round, while the other participants hovered nearby to catch anyone who wobbled.—
Lily Hautau,
CNN Money,
3 May 2026
Verb
-
At least the elevator still creaked and shuddered, as in the old days, finally trembling open on the eighth floor.—
Rick Bragg,
Southern Living,
15 Mar. 2026
-
Later, when Tristan gently put his hand on Marke’s shoulder, the king shuddered.—
Scott Cantrell,
Dallas Morning News,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Their struggles are why Buster Posey shook things up by calling up Bryce Eldridge and Jesus Rodriguez.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
7 May 2026
-
Eventually, the Thunder shook off the rust from an eight-day break and went up 31-26 at the end of the first quarter, despite 12 points from James.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
5 May 2026
Verb
-
Haitian immigrants became eligible after an earthquake rocked the country in 2010.—
Tami Luhby,
CNN Money,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Zack Bolduc and Cole Caufield, on the power play, had spotted Montreal a 2-0 lead as the Bell Centre absolutely rocked again in the anticipation and hope that perhaps their team might take a 3-1 lead over the favoured Lightning.—
Arpon Basu,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The foundation of making our children our priority has never wavered.—
Sarah Sotoodeh,
FOXNews.com,
26 Apr. 2026
-
For years, the Dolphins front office wavered between being a big, physical team built around the draft to a small, fast team built in free agency.—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Each assault count corresponds to a moment Mendoza Hernandez’s car lurched forward, about seven seconds apart.—
Scott Lebar. Story produced with AI assistance,
Sacbee.com,
7 May 2026
-
France lurched from republic to dictatorship to empire before cycling back through absolute monarchy, constitutional monarchy, Second Republic, and Second Empire.—
Sebastian Smee,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Faltered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/faltered. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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