1
as in staggers
to move forward while swaying from side to side
tottered around the house as she practiced walking in high heels
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in falters
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for totters
Verb
-
Make the most of the shoulder seasons Almost all schools in England enjoy the long summer break at the same time (unlike in Scotland, which staggers its school vacation time for each region).—
Lottie Gross,
AFAR Media,
29 Aug. 2025 -
The agency staggers payments across the month to manage the large volume of recipients.—
Aliss Higham,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Thiago shines while Fernandes falters Brentford produced one of the standout results of the weekend with a convincing 3-1 victory over Manchester United.—
Abdul Rehman,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Max Verstappen's victories in the last two Grands Prix have brought him back into the championship fight, although the 69-point gap to Piastri can only be achieved if McLaren falters on every race weekend.—
Saajan Jogia,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Despite that notable change, watching One Battle After Another is much like the experience of reading Pynchon, who lurches from high comedy to stomach-turning naturalism and punctuates plot-heavy sequences with little grace notes of character portraiture.—
Paul A. Thompson,
Pitchfork,
24 Sep. 2025
-
That film begins with charismatic bank robber Ryan Gosling in a thrilling motorcycle escape from the cops, and moves through several twists and turns, lurches forward in time, and holds Gosling at its heart as a man doing bad things for good reasons.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Our economy wobbles but returns to growth.—
John Hope Bryant,
Time,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Land awkwardly on the kerb and your rider wobbles convincingly.—
Griff Griffin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Continue reading … HONOR CODE BUST – Navy scandal rocks Democratic candidate as new poll shows gubernatorial race tied.—
,
FOXNews.com,
26 Sep. 2025
-
When a Palestinian teenager gets swept up into a protest in the occupied West Bank and experiences a moment of violence that rocks his family, his mother recounts the political and emotional threads that led to that fateful moment.—
Chris Gardner,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The work captures life between Mount Vesuvius and the Gulf of Naples, where the ground shakes periodically and the fumaroles of the Phlegraean Fields taint the air.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
3 Oct. 2025
-
The roar starts before the lights go down — a low, collective thunder that shakes the arena floor.—
Crystal Bell,
Rolling Stone,
3 Oct. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Totters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/totters. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share