Synonyms of teetering

teetering 1 of 2

adjective

as in tottering

Related Words

• tottering
• rickety
• precarious
• doddering
• tottery
• infirm
• jiggling
• insecure
• doddery
• lopsided
• wobbly
• jiggly
• staggery
• awry
• uneven
• rocky
• shaky
• tippy
• unsound
• askew
• tipsy
• cockeyed
• wonky
• unstable
• off-kilter
• unbalanced
• wavery
• unsteady

Dissimilar Words

• stable
• steady
• balanced
• stabilized
• level
• straight
• even
• substantial
• equilibrated
• sound
• sturdy

teetering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of teeter

1

as in faltering

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

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

2

as in staggering

to move forward while swaying from side to side

the toddler teetered down the rink in her new ice skates

Synonyms & Similar Words

• staggering
• lurching
• tottering
• weaving
• reeling
• rolling
• shuffling
• careening
• waddling
• stumbling
• stomping
• rocking
• swaying
• doddering
• wavering
• wobbling
• floundering
• seesawing
• barging
• shambling
• pounding
• stamping
• blundering
• swagging
• clumping
• scuffling
• scuffing
• lumping
• lumbering
• tramping
• clomping
• galumphing
• tromping

3

as in hesitating

to show uncertainty about the right course of action

was teetering on the brink of making a decision about college

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of teetering

Adjective

Vera handed over 10 boxes, one by one, until her arms were full and teetering. — Eric Boodman, STAT, 31 July 2026

Verb

Babylon 5 followed the diplomats, soldiers, and drifters aboard the station, built as neutral ground between humans and a handful of alien civilizations teetering on the edge of war. — Jp Mangalindan, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Aug. 2026

With the Miami Marlins teetering on the brink of a free fall a month and a half ago, manager Clayton McCullough presented a brief message to his players during a team meeting. — Will Sammon, New York Times, 17 July 2026

Where to stay A fairytale castle dating from the 14th century, the Château de la Treyne hotel near Lacave appears to be teetering in an impossibly precarious spot atop a rugged cliff on the banks of the Dordogne. — James Rampton, TheWeek, 9 July 2026

Les Lions had underperformed in the group stage, teetering on the verge of elimination. — Albert Samaha, New Yorker, 6 July 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 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

With these teetering burgers, there’s little need for sides. — Lynda Balslev, Mercury News, 18 June 2026

The first half of the film is essentially a political thriller—shades of 1974’s The Parallax View and similar films—as global tensions have the world teetering on the brink of World War III. — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 13 June 2026