TEETERED Synonyms: 80 Similar and Opposite Words

teetered

verb

past tense of teeter

as in faltered

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

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as in lurched

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

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as in hesitated

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

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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 teetered The crushing amount of what was owed was so dire that the city teetered on the brink of bankruptcy and its debt was downgraded to junk. —

Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 16 Mar. 2026 Two cars teetered at the jagged edge, their noses tipped skyward, almost frozen in the instant before a plunge. —

Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2026 Several Labour lawmakers and the party's leader in Scotland called for Starmer to resign, his chief of staff and communications director quit, and his premiership teetered on the brink. —

ABC News, 27 Feb. 2026 Several Labor lawmakers and the party’s leader in Scotland called for Starmer to resign, his chief of staff and communications director quit, and his premiership teetered on the brink. —

Jill Lawless, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2026 Earlier this month, Sarandos was grilled by a Senate committee in an antitrust hearing that often teetered on the edge of the profoundly unserious. —

Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 26 Feb. 2026 For a species that once teetered on the very edge of extinction, every healthy young wombat caught on camera represents a quiet but powerful victory. —

Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 13 Feb. 2026 Dent and Booker were failing to turn their fate as UCLA teetered on the bubble in desperate need of a significant victory. —

Aaron Heisen, Daily News, 6 Feb. 2026 Since then, employment has teetered down in some months and up in others. —

Maggie Menderski, Louisville Courier Journal, 2 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for teetered

Verb

Despite tremendous personal hurdles in her young life, her love for theatre has never faltered.

— Heide Janssen, Oc Register, 15 Mar. 2026
Top-seeded Michigan survived an uninspiring performance to hold off Ohio State 71-67, while fourth-seeded Illinois blew a 15-point lead and faltered down the stretch in a 91-88 overtime loss to Wisconsin.

— Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2026