waver – English verb conjugation

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to waver
Participle: wavered
Gerund: wavering

Cognates

-

Indicative

Subjunctive

Conditional

Imperative

you	waver
we	Let's waver
you	waver

Indicative

Conditional

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

to [[move]], or [[swing]], backward and forward or from side to side

rock, sway

to stop or pause respecting decision or action; to be in suspense or uncertainty as to a determination

boggle, deliberate, demur, falter, hesitate, hover, mammer, scruple, stand shilly-shally, stick

shake

quiver, shiver, tremble

fluctuate

flutter, sway, alternate, vacillate, hesitate

Antonyms

fluctuate

persist, hold, stick, decide

Additional Information

Phrasal Verbs

Etymology

1. 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.).
2. The verb is derived from Middle English waveren (“to move back and forth, swing; to move unsteadily, totter; to shake, tremble; to wander; (figurative) to be changeable or unstable; to deviate”), and then possibly:
3. * from Old English (compare Old English wǣfre (“flickering, quivering, wavering; active, nimble (?)”)), related to Old English wafian (“to wave”) from Proto-West Germanic *wabbjan (“to cause to weave; to entangle; to wrap”), from Proto-Germanic *wabjaną (“to cause to weave; to entangle; to wrap”); and/or
4. * from Old Norse vafra (“to move unsteadily, flicker”), probably related to vefa (“to weave”);
5. both from Proto-Germanic *webaną (“to weave”), from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to braid, weave”). Doublet of wave.
6. The noun is derived from the verb. See: Middle English 'waveren', Old English 'wafian', Proto-Germanic '*wabjaną'.

Verbs referencing "waver"

German, old spelling wabern.

Sample Sentences