Waver - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

wa·ver1

Audio Help [wey-ver] Pronunciation Key

–verb (used without object)

1.	to sway to and fro; flutter: Foliage wavers in the breeze.

2.	to flicker or quiver, as light: A distant beam wavered and then disappeared.

3.	become unsteady; begin to fail or give way: When she heard the news her courage wavered.

4.	to shake or tremble, as the hands or voice: Her voice wavered.

5.	to feel or show doubt, indecision, etc.; vacillate: He wavered in his determination.

6.	(of things) to fluctuate or vary: Prices wavered.

7.	to totter or reel: The earth quaked and the tower wavered.

–noun

8.	an act of wavering, fluttering, or vacillating.

[Origin: 1275–1325; ME (see wave, -er⁶); c. dial. G wabern to move about, ON vafra to toddle

]

—Related forms

wa·ver·er, noun

wa·ver·ing·ly, adverb

—Synonyms 4. quiver. 5. Waver, fluctuate, vacillate refer to an alternation or hesitation between one direction and another. Waver means to hesitate between choices: to waver between two courses of action. Fluctuate suggests irregular change from one side to the other or up and down: The prices of stocks fluctuate when there is bad news followed by good. Vacillate is to make up one's mind and change it again suddenly; to be undecided as to what to do: We must not vacillate but must set a day.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Waver

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

wav·er2

Audio Help [wey-ver] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	a person who waves or causes something to wave: Election time brings out the wavers of flags and haranguers of mobs.

2.	a person who specializes in waving hair.

3.	something, as a curling iron, used for waving hair.

[Origin: 1550–60; wave + -er¹

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

wave Audio Help   (wāv) Pronunciation Key
v.   waved, wav·ing, waves

v.   intr.

To move freely back and forth or up and down in the air, as branches in the wind.
To make a signal with an up-and-down or back-and-forth movement of the hand or an object held in the hand: waved as she drove by.
To have an undulating or wavy form; curve or curl: Her hair waves naturally.

v. tr.

To cause to move back and forth or up and down, either once or repeatedly: She waved a fan before her face.
1. To move or swing as in giving a signal: He waved his hand. See Synonyms at flourish.
2. To signal or express by waving the hand or an object held in the hand: We waved goodbye.
3. To signal (a person) to move in a specified direction: The police officer waved the motorist into the right lane.
To arrange into curves, curls, or undulations: wave one's hair.

1. A ridge or swell moving through or along the surface of a large body of water.
2. A small ridge or swell moving across the interface of two fluids and dependent on surface tension.
3. A moving curve or succession of curves in or on a surface; an undulation: waves of wheat in the wind.
4. A curve or succession of curves, as in the hair.
5. A curved shape, outline, or pattern.
6. A surge or rush, as of sensation: a wave of nausea; a wave of indignation.
7. A sudden great rise, as in activity or intensity: a wave of panic selling on the stock market.
8. A rising trend that involves large numbers of individuals: a wave of conservatism.
9. One of a succession of mass movements: the first wave of settlers.
10. A maneuver in which fans at a sports event simulate an ocean wave by rising quickly in sequence with arms upraised and then quickly sitting down again in a continuous rolling motion.
11. A disturbance traveling through a medium by which energy is transferred from one particle of the medium to another without causing any permanent displacement of the medium itself.
12. A graphic representation of the variation of such a disturbance with time.
13. A single cycle of such a disturbance.
The sea. Often used in the plural: vanished beneath the waves.
Something that suggests the form and motion of a wave in the sea, especially:
1. A moving curve or succession of curves in or on a surface; an undulation: waves of wheat in the wind.
2. A curve or succession of curves, as in the hair.
3. A curved shape, outline, or pattern.
4. A surge or rush, as of sensation: a wave of nausea; a wave of indignation.
5. A sudden great rise, as in activity or intensity: a wave of panic selling on the stock market.
6. A rising trend that involves large numbers of individuals: a wave of conservatism.
7. One of a succession of mass movements: the first wave of settlers.
8. A maneuver in which fans at a sports event simulate an ocean wave by rising quickly in sequence with arms upraised and then quickly sitting down again in a continuous rolling motion.
9. A disturbance traveling through a medium by which energy is transferred from one particle of the medium to another without causing any permanent displacement of the medium itself.
10. A graphic representation of the variation of such a disturbance with time.
11. A single cycle of such a disturbance.
A movement up and down or back and forth: a wave of the hand.
1. A surge or rush, as of sensation: a wave of nausea; a wave of indignation.
2. A sudden great rise, as in activity or intensity: a wave of panic selling on the stock market.
3. A rising trend that involves large numbers of individuals: a wave of conservatism.
4. One of a succession of mass movements: the first wave of settlers.
5. A maneuver in which fans at a sports event simulate an ocean wave by rising quickly in sequence with arms upraised and then quickly sitting down again in a continuous rolling motion.
6. A disturbance traveling through a medium by which energy is transferred from one particle of the medium to another without causing any permanent displacement of the medium itself.
7. A graphic representation of the variation of such a disturbance with time.
8. A single cycle of such a disturbance.
A widespread, persistent meteorological condition, especially of temperature: a heat wave.
Physics
1. A disturbance traveling through a medium by which energy is transferred from one particle of the medium to another without causing any permanent displacement of the medium itself.
2. A graphic representation of the variation of such a disturbance with time.
3. A single cycle of such a disturbance.

Phrasal Verb(s):
wave off

To dismiss or refuse by waving the hand or arm: waved off his invitation to join the group.
Sports To cancel or nullify by waving the arms, usually from a crossed position: waved off the goal because time had run out.

[Middle English waven, from Old English wafian; see webh- in Indo-European roots.]

wav'er n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

wa·ver Audio Help (wā'vər) Pronunciation Key
intr.v. wa·vered, wa·ver·ing, wa·vers

To move unsteadily back and forth. See Synonyms at swing.
1. To exhibit irresolution or indecision; vacillate: wavered over buying a house. See Synonyms at hesitate.
2. To become unsteady or unsure; falter: His resolve began to waver.
To tremble or quaver in sound, as of the voice or a musical note.
To flicker or glimmer, as light.

n. The act of wavering.

[Middle English waveren; see webh- in Indo-European roots.]

wa'ver·er n., wa'ver·ing·ly adv.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
waver (v.)

c.1280, weyveren, "to show indecision," probably related to O.E. wæfre "restless, wavering," from P.Gmc. *wæbraz (cf. M.H.G. wabern "to waver," O.N. vafra "to hover about"), a frequentative form from the root of wave (v.).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

waver
noun
1.	someone who communicates by waving
2.	the act of pausing uncertainly; "there was a hesitation in his speech" [syn: hesitation]
3.	the act of moving back and forth
verb
1.	pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness; "Authorities hesitate to quote exact figures" [syn: hesitate]
2.	be unsure or weak; "Their enthusiasm is faltering" [syn: falter]
3.	move hesitatingly, as if about to give way [syn: falter]
4.	move or sway in a rising and falling or wavelike pattern; "the line on the monitor vacillated" [syn: fluctuate]
5.	move back and forth very rapidly; "the candle flickered" [syn: flicker]
6.	sway to and fro
7.	give off unsteady sounds, alternating in amplitude or frequency [syn: quaver]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
waver [ˈweivə] verb

to be unsteady or uncertain
Example: He wavered between accepting and refusing.

Arabic:	يَتَرَدَّد، يَتَذَبْذَب، يَتأرْجَح
Chinese (Simplified):	犹豫不决
Chinese (Traditional):	猶豫不決
Czech:	váhat
Danish:	vakle
Dutch:	weifelen
Estonian:	kõhklema
Finnish:	olla kahden vaiheilla
French:	hésiter
German:	wanken
Greek:	αμφιταλαντεύομαι
Hungarian:	ingadozik
Icelandic:	flökta; vera á báðum áttum
Indonesian:	bimbang
Italian:	esitare

Japanese:	ためらう
Korean:	갈팡질팡하다, 망설이다
Latvian:	svārstīties; būt nestabilam
Lithuanian:	dvejoti, svyruoti
Norwegian:	vakle mellom
Polish:	chwiać, *wahać się
Portuguese (Brazil):	hesitar
Portuguese (Portugal):	hesitar
Romanian:	a ezita
Russian:	колебаться
Slovak:	váhať
Slovenian:	omahovati
Spanish:	vacilar, titubear
Swedish:	vackla, tveka
Turkish:	kararsızlık göstermek, bocalamak

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Waver

Fluc"tu*ate\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fluctuated; p. pr. & vb. n. Fluctuating.] [L. fluctuatus, p. p. of fluctuare, to wave, fr. fluctus wave, fr. fluere, fluctum, to flow. See Fluent, and cf. Flotilla.]

1. To move as a wave; to roll hither and thither; to wave; to float backward and forward, as on waves; as, a fluctuating field of air. --Blackmore.

2. To move now in one direction and now in another; to be wavering or unsteady; to be irresolute or undetermined; to vacillate.

Syn: To waver; vacillate; hesitate; scruple.

Usage: To Fluctuate, Vacillate, Waver. -- Fluctuate is applied both to things and persons and denotes that they move as they are acted upon. The stocks fluctuate; a man fluctuates between conflicting influences. Vacillate and waver are applied to persons to represent them as acting themselves. A man vacillates when he goes backward and forward in his opinions and purposes, without any fixity of mind or principles. A man wavers when he shrinks back or hesitates at the approach of difficulty or danger. One who is fluctuating in his feelings is usually vacillating in resolve, and wavering in execution.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Waver

Wave\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waved (w[=a]vd); p. pr. & vb. n. Waving.] [OE. waven, AS. wafian to waver, to hesitate, to wonder; akin to w[ae]fre wavering, restless, MHG. wabern to be in motion, Icel. vafra to hover about; cf. Icel. v[=a]fa to vibrate. Cf. Waft, Waver.]

1. To play loosely; to move like a wave, one way and the other; to float; to flutter; to undulate.

His purple robes waved careless to the winds. --Trumbull.

Where the flags of three nations has successively waved. --Hawthorne.

2. To be moved to and fro as a signal. --B. Jonson.

3. To fluctuate; to waver; to be in an unsettled state; to vacillate. [Obs.]

He waved indifferently 'twixt doing them neither good nor harm. --Shak.

On-line Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

waver

waver: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary

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