Link Centre Dictionary

falter

fal·ter

UK/ˈfɒltə/ US/ˈfɔːltə/ uncommon
verb (4) noun (1)

verb

1.

be unsure or weak

  • “Their enthusiasm is faltering”
Synonyms
2.

move hesitatingly, as if about to give way

Synonyms
3.

walk unsteadily

  • “The drunk man stumbled about”
Synonyms
4.

speak haltingly

  • “The speaker faltered when he saw his opponent enter the room”
Synonyms

noun

1.

the act of pausing uncertainly

  • “there was a hesitation in his speech”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English falteren (“to stagger; be unsteady, tremble, quiver; to stammer; be entangled, get caught”), further origin unknown. Probably from a North Germanic source such as Old Norse faltrask (“to hesitate, be puzzled, be encumbered”). May also be a frequentative of fold, although the change from d to t is unusual.

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.