falter
verb [I] /ˈfɒl.tər/
/ˈfɑːl.t̬ɚ/ Definition
› to lose strength or purpose and stop, or almost stop: The dinner party conversation faltered for a moment. Her friends never faltered in their belief in her. Nigel's voice faltered and he stopped speaking.HesitatingUncertaintyBecoming and making less strong › to move awkwardly as if you might fall: The nurse saw him falter and made him lean on her.Moving unsteadily or with difficulty faltering /-ɪŋ/ adjective › She took a few faltering steps. This legislation is designed to stimulate the faltering economy.Weakness and vulnerability falteringly /-ɪŋ.li/ adverb Weakness and vulnerability
(Definition of falter verb from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus
© Cambridge University Press)
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You are looking at an entry to do with Moving unsteadily or with difficulty, but you might be interested in these topics from the Movement and location topic area:
- Advancing and moving forward
- Arrivals and departures
- Arriving, entering and invading
- Backwards, sideways and back and forth
- Bending, twisting and curving
- Boarding and alighting from modes of transport
- Bouncing
- Changing direction
- Crossing and moving through
- Delivering and despatching
- Departing
- Describing movement towards
- Digging
- Direction of motion
- Down and downward
- Emitting and ejecting
- Evicting and forcing to leave
- Falling and dropping
- Fast and rapid
- General words for movement
- Immobility
- Increasing and decreasing speed of motion
- Inserting and forcing things into other things
- Jumping
- Making short, sudden movements
- Messengers and people who deliver things
- Movement
- Movement of liquids
- Movement on or through water
- Movement through the air
- Moving a long way on foot
- Moving downwards
- Moving firmly on foot
- Moving gently on foot
- Moving in order to avoid contact
- Moving on your hands and legs or on your stomach
- Moving quickly
- Moving to avoid being seen
- Moving upwards
- Not holding the body upright
- Phrases telling people to go away
- Physical gestures of respect
- Places and locations
- Placing and positioning an object
- Pleasant and make-believe places
- Posture
- Pulling
- Pursuing
- Pushing and shoving
- Raising and lowering
- Reclining
- Removing and extracting
- Returning to a place
- Revolving, rotating and spinning
- Runaways and refugees
- Running away and escaping
- Shaking, swinging and vibrating
- Sitting and standing
- Slow and moving slowly
- Speed of motion
- Staying and remaining
- Stretching the body
- Taking someone somewhere or telling them the way
- Throwing
- Transferring and transporting objects
- Turning upside down
- Unpleasant places
- Up and upward
- Visiting
- Walking and walkers
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SMART Thesaurus
Synonyms and related words:
- blunder verb (MOVE)
- bumble verb
- doddery adjective
- galumphing adjective
- hardly/barely put one foot in front of the other idiom
- lollop verb
- lumber verb
- lurch noun
- lurch verb
- reel verb
- schlep verb
- shamble verb
- shuffle noun (WALK)
- shuffle verb (WALK)
- squeeze verb (MOVE)
- stagger verb (MOVE)
- toil verb (MOVE)
- totter verb
- trip (sb) up phrasal verb (FALL)
- waddle verb
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
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