1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

haw

verb

Definition of hawnext
as in to hem

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of haw In the midst of it all, young children decked out in Algerian gear hemmed and hawed at their idols. — Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 12 June 2026 Still, this is 10 straight minutes of absolute peppering, and 10 minutes of hemming and hawing from Schefter. — Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 10 Apr. 2026 People with an instinct for action are those who jump in and tackle things head-on, rather than hemming and hawing about it. — Kate Morgan, Forbes.com, 11 Mar. 2026 Capable partners are good partners, unlike so many of our traditional allies, who wring their hands and clutch their pearls, hemming and hawing about the use of force. — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 2 Mar. 2026 Barring America losing a war or experiencing a crushing economic depression, one imagines that even the anti-Trump candidates will again be doing the hemming and hawing that made so many of the 2024 versions so ineffective. — Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 18 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for haw
  1. hem
  2. hesitate
  3. wait
  4. vacillate
Verb
  • Rather than chasing one elusive number at a time, mathematicians study how these Ramsey numbers grow as the graphs become larger—and how to hem them in.
    — Sam Macdonald, Scientific American, 15 July 2026
  • Analysts say Burnham's policies, like Starmer's, could be hemmed in by bond market investors opposed to any additional borrowing.
    — Kim Hjelmgaard, USA Today, 22 June 2026
Definition of hem
Verb
  • Many people would have hesitated before taking them on as tenants, housemates, or clients.
    — Ian Parker, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Asked whether Kraken players take rejections like Robertson’s personally, center Matty Beniers didn’t hesitate for a second.
    — Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of hesitate
Verb
  • Achievement is much more useful when the person accomplishing it still likes the life waiting afterward.
    — Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026
  • All three factors appear to have pushed the committee from wait-and-see mode to determined action.
    — Christopher Rugaber, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of wait
Verb
  • Our political system vacillates between absurdism and horror.
    — Chloe Benjamain, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Then there are the fragmented attention spans birthed by our dearly beloved screens, which cultivate a kind of cognitive whiplash that vacillates between amnesia and yearning for more.
    — Christopher Coffman, The Conversation, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of vacillate

Browse Nearby Words

havocs
haw
hawed
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Haw.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/haw. Accessed 21 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on haw

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about haw

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of elegiac

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All