as in shaking
marked by or given to small uncontrollable bodily movements
after the accident, she was only able to take a few tottering steps at a time
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in staggering
to move forward while swaying from side to side
tottered around the house as she practiced walking in high heels
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in faltering
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 tottering
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
Neither of them understands the other’s dynamic with Daniel, and the split-episode format keeps our sympathies teeter-tottering between each woman.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tottering
Verb
-
The young men in Bruins blue and gold staggering off the field afterwards dazed, confused.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Oc Register,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Roughly two-thirds of the state’s billionaires made their fortunes in finance and investments, including richest resident (former NYC mayor) Michael Bloomberg, who’s worth staggering $109 billion.—
Ella Malmgren,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
China's housing downturn has stretched into a fourth year, with prices, sales, investment and construction activity faltering across the board.—
Anniek Bao,Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
25 Aug. 2025
-
Investors’ long-running enthusiasm for artificial intelligence showed signs of faltering late Tuesday and early Wednesday morning as tech stocks tumbled.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But while the new movie dawdles on its way to Toxie’s origins, then rushes toward a finale with a lurching rhythm that verges on calculated ineptitude, its spirit never feels inauthentic.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
29 Aug. 2025
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The result, nearly eight months into his second term, is an economy that appears to be lurching into a new era of state control.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
13 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Jurors saw some wobbling footage that appeared to be taken from inside a bush, though prosecutors did not explicitly make clear if the footage was taken from Routh's perch.—
Peter Charalambous,
ABC News,
12 Sep. 2025
-
With job growth tanking and the economy wobbling, pressure is on for the Federal Reserve to start lowering interest rates, with markets now expecting a cut at each of the three remaining meetings this year.—
Jeff Cox,
CNBC,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Sweet Martha’s cookies are baked to order, then served warm in precariously tall stacks, teetering out of a paper cup, or, better yet, the stand’s signature plastic bucket, which gets loaded with about four dozen cookies despite fitting only three dozen.—
Hannah Goldfield,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
-
The three-month average of the prime-age employment-to-population ratio has been teetering around the current level, but the labor market has remained resilient.—
Bill Stone,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
That week’s host, Emily Blunt, did the trembly voice-over.—
Michael Schulman,
The New Yorker,
21 Dec. 2020
Verb
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Here, Eady speaks with Deadline about the fun of weaving a fantastical and spiritual tale about the real threats of land loss and economic hardships in the Black community.—
Destiny Jackson,
Deadline,
12 Sep. 2025
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Guzman fell in love with the way Williams captures the beauty of everyday life, weaving humor, heartache and joy into a story that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant.—
American Booksellers Association,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In a new video with Insightec, the Oscar-winning screenwriter, 76, opened up about struggling for years with essential tremor, which left him unable to do simple tasks without shaking, such as holding a cup or writing by hand.—
Vanessa Etienne,
PEOPLE,
16 Sep. 2025
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Steam the clams until the shells open, 5 to 7 minutes, depending on the size of the clams, shaking the pan once or twice.—
Lynda Balslev,
Mercury News,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tottering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tottering. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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