Synonyms of faltering

faltering 1 of 3

noun

as in hesitation

a state or an instance of temporary inaction because of uncertainty about the right course of action

when it's so clear that this is the right thing to do, there's no excuse for faltering

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hesitation
• pause
• hesitancy
• hesitance
• delay
• wavering
• wobbling
• indecision
• vacillation
• irresolution
• uncertainty
• deliberation
• waiting
• fence-sitting
• doubt
• shilly-shallying
• reluctance
• shilly-shally
• procrastination
• debate
• consideration
• indecisiveness
• second thought
• hawing
• incertitude
• unwillingness
• arrière-pensée
• indetermination
• timidity
• faintheartedness
• indisposition
• misgiving
• avoidance
• uncertainness
• equivocation
• disinclination
• timidness
• shyness
• aversion

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• determination
• confidence
• resolution
• certainty
• firmness
• certitude
• readiness
• decisiveness
• eagerness
• sureness
• alacrity
• resoluteness

faltering

2 of 3

adjective

as in wobbly

Related Words

• wobbly
• uncertain
• unsure
• questioning
• irresolute
• vacillating
• doubtful
• undecided
• conflicted
• ambivalent
• afraid
• reluctant
• equivocal
• hesitant
• loath
• indisposed
• dubious
• disinclined

Dissimilar Words

• certain
• decided
• resolute
• sure
• unambivalent
• unquestioning

faltering

3 of 3

verb

present participle of falter

1

as in hesitating

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

• hesitating
• vacillating
• wavering
• halting
• dithering
• waiting
• staggering
• wobbling
• debating
• hanging back
• balancing
• pausing
• teetering
• scrupling
• swaying
• lingering
• delaying
• shilly-shallying
• pondering
• dawdling
• procrastinating
• hawing
• weighing
• hemming
• deliberating
• backing down
• considering
• oscillating
• waffling
• equivocating
• hedging
• dallying
• chickening (out)
• pussyfooting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• deciding
• plunging (in)
• diving (in)
• continuing
• stirring
• advancing
• budging

2

as in trembling

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

• trembling
• wobbling
• shaking
• shuddering
• rocking
• wavering
• tottering
• lurching
• vibrating
• quivering
• teetering
• floundering
• stumbling
• quaking
• quavering
• staggering
• reeling
• toddling
• weaving
• careening

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of faltering

Noun

Reeve doesn’t see the team feeling an urgency to find a solution to its defensive faltering. — Anya Armentrout, Twin Cities, 19 July 2026

Many in town say the struggle to transform Scotia mirrors a larger struggle in Humboldt County, which has been rocked, first by the faltering of its logging industry and more recently by the collapse of its cannabis economy. — Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2026

The Reds' season can be described as consistently inconsistent but playing well down the stretch and the New York Mets faltering has led to an opportunity to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2020. — Jason Hoffman, Cincinnati Enquirer, 26 Sep. 2025

And the media went along with her coverup, despite Biden’s obvious faltering. — Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 7 Aug. 2025

Adjective

In 2019 and again in 2020, the company launched a pair of spacecraft that latched onto faltering communication satellites and steered them, providing extra years of life. — Marcia Dunn, Fortune, 22 July 2026

Dodgers right-hander Edgardo Henriquez was on the mound as their third pitcher in a bullpen game, and his command was faltering, to the tune of back-to-back walks and a wild pitch. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026

As its stock languishes below its IPO price — at press time, $131 — short sellers are going all in against the company, hoping to make a killing off of CEO Elon Musk’s faltering pull on investors. — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 16 July 2026

His visit comes as interlocutors try to revive the faltering diplomatic process after recent strikes between the US and Iran. — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 11 July 2026

Traditional oversight from accrediting agencies is faltering, necessitating new approaches. — Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026

Surely a number of things, but faltering offense would seem to top the list. — Ken Sugiura, AJC.com, 8 July 2026

Lower values for office buildings, hotels, and retail centers has become a key factor in the faltering pace of assessment valuations. — George Avalos, Mercury News, 6 July 2026

Silk City is by far Manchester’s biggest single residential development to be built in recent years, and will cap a 17-year campaign to redevelop a faltering retail complex that had once flourished. — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 25 June 2026

Verb

Two decades’ worth of Chinese investments in research and foreign policy are coming into bloom, Osnos writes, at the same moment that America is faltering on the world stage. — David Remnick, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026

The Athletic spoke to those close to Rooney — who did so anonymously to protect relationships — about his transformation from faltering broadcaster to one of the bright points of the national broadcaster’s coverage. — Greg O'Keeffe, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2026

The boy was burly and had a remarkable strength and energy that stayed throughout his life, only faltering in the very last throes of death. — Literary Hub, 20 July 2026

Chris Jung | Nurphoto | Getty Images Shares of Nvidia have been faltering recently — and Kalshi traders predict that what the company can charge for chips is also declining. — Ananya Chetia, CNBC, 22 June 2026

After faltering in last year’s Div. — Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 30 May 2026

But now, as the public understands the consequences of our faltering democracy, more people are talking about it, Drutman said. — Mary Ellen Klas, Mercury News, 26 May 2026

Tangent The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board specifically calls out declining pandemic preparedness funding as a result of faltering political attention. — Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026

With most tropical reefs expected to face conditions like the Gulf’s by 2100—and already faltering under increasingly frequent marine heat waves—that makes the Gulf’s coral a source of valuable genetic information about resilience that could have implications for the rest of the world’s reefs. — Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 14 May 2026