1
as in to stagger
to move forward while swaying from side to side
tottered around the house as she practiced walking in high heels
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to falter
to swing unsteadily back and forth or from side to side
the figurine tottered precariously for a moment before falling off the shelf
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of totter
But The Gilded Age doesn’t do pure villains with its main cast, and Oscar totters between failson and tragic figure, the closeted heir of the Van Rhijn family dragged to hell and back after being defrauded of his mother’s fortune.
—
Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
On the floor, waist-high piles of books tottered like miniature leaning towers of Pisa.
My father has always been an avid learner and reader.
—The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2025
As Joe Biden tottered and fell (literally as well as metaphorically), more than a few pundits compared him to Lear, a man who was ruined by age, pride, and the flattery of sycophants.
—Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 16 May 2025
Dina Tomczak, the school’s athletic director, tottered into her office having barely slept.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for totter
Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
On the floor, waist-high piles of books tottered like miniature leaning towers of Pisa.
My father has always been an avid learner and reader.
—The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2025
As Joe Biden tottered and fell (literally as well as metaphorically), more than a few pundits compared him to Lear, a man who was ruined by age, pride, and the flattery of sycophants.
—Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 16 May 2025
Dina Tomczak, the school’s athletic director, tottered into her office having barely slept.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for totter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for totter
Verb
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Layoffs will be staggered through the site’s closure on April 29.—
Glenn Taylor,
Sourcing Journal,
26 Jan. 2026
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The pools are staggered across levels (some adults-only), and there are connecting rooms and kid-friendly food.—
Jonnie Bayfield,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The film falters, however, once something resembling an actual plot kicks in.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
24 Jan. 2026
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However, as the world reopened and gyms returned to normal operations, Peloton’s growth engines began to falter.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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When her car began to lurch forward, an agent near the front left-side of the SUV drew his gun and shot her at close range.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
14 Jan. 2026
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Natanya complicates her old-school character sketch with cerebral shifts in perspective, affecting each of the voices that accompany a young woman’s drive for success and independence (demanding friends and parents, sexist expectations, her own willpower) in a lurching cascade of melodies.—
H.D. Angel,
Pitchfork,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The kind of person who trembles at watermarks is not the sort of person who dares to put marble in the dishwasher.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
16 Oct. 2025
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The Maine trembled and angled up, then listed to port, throwing him from his chair.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This should have people across the country absolutely shook.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
30 Jan. 2026
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The officer in the black beanie appears to shake a pepper spray canister toward protesters.—
Yahya Abou-Ghazala,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Not just to provide news publishers the equivalent of a fair and honest wage, but also to bolster our wobbling democracy by fostering an engaged and knowledgeable electorate.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Mercury News,
27 Jan. 2026
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That border too wobbled well into the 1930s which ultimately left Mount Ararat inside Turkey.—
Melik Kaylan,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Totter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totter. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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