Synonyms of staggers

staggers

verb

present tense third-person singular of stagger

1

as in lurches

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 & Similar Words

• lurches
• totters
• weaves
• shuffles
• stomps
• stumbles
• waddles
• careens
• teeters
• rolls
• reels
• sways
• rocks
• dodders
• wavers
• wobbles
• flounders
• lumbers
• clomps
• shambles
• barges
• wabbles
• seesaws
• clumps
• pounds
• blunders
• stamps
• tromps
• swags
• tramps
• scuffs
• lumps
• scuffles
• galumphs

2

as in hesitates

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 & Similar Words

• hesitates
• falters
• vacillates
• dithers
• halts
• waits
• wavers
• teeters
• wabbles
• balances
• wobbles
• lingers
• pauses
• debates
• scruples
• sways
• hangs back
• ponders
• dawdles
• procrastinates
• weighs
• deliberates
• haws
• delays
• shilly-shallies
• oscillates
• backs down
• considers
• dallies
• chickens (out)
• equivocates
• hems
• hedges
• waffles
• pussyfoots

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• decides
• plunges (in)
• continues
• dives (in)
• stirs
• advances
• budges

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of staggers

Make the most of the shoulder seasons Almost all schools in England enjoy the long summer break at the same time (unlike in Scotland, which staggers its school vacation time for each region). —Lottie Gross, AFAR Media, 29 Aug. 2025

The agency staggers payments across the month to manage the large volume of recipients. —Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Aug. 2025

Maybe birth rates would rebound, after a disaster or disintegration that staggers us. —Literary Hub, 8 Aug. 2025