Library / English Dictionary

FALTER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of pausing uncertainly

Example:

there was a hesitation in his speech

Synonyms:

falter; faltering; hesitation; waver

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("falter" is a kind of...):

pause (temporary inactivity)

Derivation:

falter (speak haltingly)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Speak haltingly

Example:

The speaker faltered when he saw his opponent enter the room

Synonyms:

bumble; falter; stammer; stutter

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "falter" is one way to...):

mouth; speak; talk; utter; verbalise; verbalize (express in speech)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue falter

Derivation:

falter (the act of pausing uncertainly)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Walk unsteadily

Example:

The drunk man stumbled about

Synonyms:

bumble; falter; stumble

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "falter" is one way to...):

walk (use one's feet to advance; advance by steps)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue falter

Sense 3

Meaning:

Move hesitatingly, as if about to give way

Synonyms:

falter; waver

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "falter" is one way to...):

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

faltering (the act of pausing uncertainly)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Be unsure or weak

Example:

Their enthusiasm is faltering

Synonyms:

falter; waver

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "falter" is one way to...):

hesitate; waffle; waver (pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Credits

 Context examples: 

She peered at me over her spectacles, and then she opened a drawer and fumbled among its contents for a long time, so long that my hopes began to falter.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

She finished the concluding stanza without faltering and then slowly guided the conversation into less perilous channels.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

The genetically-altered mice faltered on tasks requiring navigation of a maze to receive a reward.

(Schizophrenia risk gene linked to cognitive deficits in mice, National Institutes of Health)

The bent head, the averted eye, the faltering voice, the wincing figure—these, and not the unshrinking gaze and frank reply, are the true signals of passion.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The picture was then produced which the servant had found in her pocket; and when Elizabeth, in a faltering voice, proved that it was the same which, an hour before the child had been missed, she had placed round his neck, a murmur of horror and indignation filled the court.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Because the two types of fungi are expected to respond differently to a changing climate, knowing where each type predominates may help scientists predict where forests will thrive in the future and where they will falter.

(NASA Satellite Images Uncover Underground Forest Fungi, NASA)

"I—I write, or, rather, try to write, for the magazines," Martin faltered.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

“I beg your pardon, sir,” I faltered.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

But you must not falter when once you have begun.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

"It's like his writing," faltered Meg, comparing it with the note in her hand.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)