TEETER Synonyms: 79 Similar and Opposite Words

teeter

verb

ˈtē-tər

Definition of teeter

as in to falter

to swing unsteadily back and forth or from side to side he nervously teetered at the edge of the pool before finally diving in

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in to stagger

to move forward while swaying from side to side the toddler teetered down the rink in her new ice skates

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in to hesitate

to show uncertainty about the right course of action was teetering on the brink of making a decision about college

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 teeter Several holes, including the 13th, the site of Mickelson’s bizarre ruling, teetered on the edge of unplayable, according to players. — Gabby Herzig, New York Times, 16 June 2026 The film won an Oscar, helped earn Gore a Nobel Prize, and convinced young Americans that civilization was teetering on the brink. — Bjorn Lomborg, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 June 2026 Among the biggest beneficiaries have been puffins, whose population has grown from just 13 birds in 2000 to 1,335 in 2026 after teetering on the brink of local extinction. — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 2 July 2026 The new series teeters on a bipartisan ledge, carefully including conversations with political figures like former vice presidents Kamala Harris, Mike Pence, Al Gore; former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Republican Senator Ted Cruz. — Kalia Richardson, USA Today, 24 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for teeter

Recent Examples of Synonyms for teeter

Verb

And once performance falters, customers are likely to lose faith in your brand.

— Brian Coyne, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
Russell Henley also made a 4-under push on Sunday to finish 10-under, while Cam Young faltered in the final pairing with a 1-over round to finish 10-under as well.

— Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2026

Definition of falter

Verb

And women who suspect their period pain is more severe than normal should not hesitate to speak with a health care provider, especially if symptoms are affecting their quality of life.

— Daryl Austin, USA Today, 7 July 2026
In the second half, Freese stepped off his line to control a ball, hesitated, stubbed his foot against the ground, and lost the ball.

— Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 7 July 2026

Definition of hesitate

Verb

Instead of rising together whenever markets wobble, Treasurys, gold and the yen are increasingly responding to their own macro fundamentals.

— Lim Hui Jie,Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 3 July 2026
The plate currently featured front and center, SpaceX, has been wobbling after an underwhelming IPO.

— Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 2 July 2026

Definition of wobble

Verb

Once, somewhere in southern Virginia, Dad performed the customary lurch off the highway in the direction of a promising barbecue counter.

— Rachel Tepper Paley, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 July 2026
The same boom-and-bust dependency on the oil industry, whose profits were now funnelled through the regime and its allies, kept the country lurching from one crisis to the next.

— Armando Ledezma, New Yorker, 30 June 2026

Definition of lurch

Verb

That has had a ripsaw effect on Musk, who is now vacillating between being the world’s first active trillionaire and the world’s first former-trillionaire.

— Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 2 July 2026
The characters have little time to make life-or-death decisions, let alone ruminate, and the action vacillates between triage and doctors expertly improvising solutions — like Mel (Taylor Dearden) donating her own blood, and Javadi (Shabana Azeez) going MacGyver mode with a tracheal tube.

— EW Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 25 June 2026

Definition of vacillate

Verb

In an accompanying cartoon, Spark is caricatured as a sulking giant, tottering above the Tuscan countryside in a pair of high heels.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 June 2026
Among them a City boy wearing three Fit-Bit-type devices, two beautiful Middle Eastern sisters, an outrageously pompous elderly American (sorry; eavesdropping), and several Imelda Marcos lookalikes, tottering out of the treatment rooms with, somehow, their elaborate hairstyles still intact.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026

Definition of totter

Browse Nearby Words

tees off

teeter

teetered

See all Nearby Words

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Style

“Teeter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/teeter. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of teeter

verb

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