falter

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falter

/ˈfɒltə/ UK
/ˈfɔːltə/ UK
/ˈfɔltəɹ/ US
[ˈfɔl.tɚ] US
/ˈfɑltəɹ/ cot caught merger
[ˈfɑl.tɚ] cot caught merger
/ˈfɔltə/ Australia, New Zealand

Rhymes with -ɒltə(ɹ), -ɔːltə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

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.

noun falters · faulter

An unsteadiness. Tom, who isn't paying much attention, is suddenly caught by the falter in his voice as he reads the two lines—

verb falters · faltering · faltered · faulter

To waver or be unsteady; to weaken or trail off. He found his legs falter.
ambitransitive To stammer; to utter with hesitation, or in a weak and trembling manner. And here he faltered forth his last farewell.
To fail in distinctness or regularity of exercise; said of the mind or of thought. Here indeed the power of distinctly conceiving of space and distance falters.
To stumble.
figuratively To lose faith or vigor; to doubt or abandon (a cause). And remember, comrades, your resolution must never falter.
To hesitate in purpose or action. Ere her native king / Shall falter under foul rebellion's arms.
To cleanse or sift, as barley. Barley[…]clean falter'd from Hairs

Similar: flounder

Thesaurus

verb

Similar: flounder

Translations

Every language

noun unsteadiness — see also unsteadiness

Deutsch	Wanken

verb To waver or be unsteady

Français	vaciller
Deutsch	wanken, wackeln, schwächeln, flackern
Русский	дрогнуть drognutʹ

verb To stumble

Deutsch	stolpern, straucheln
Italiano	inciampare
Русский	оступаться ostupatʹsja, спотыкаться spotykatʹsja

verb to lose faith or vigor; to doubt or abandon (a cause)

Español	flaquear, fallar

verb To hesitate

Deutsch	zögern, zaudern, ins Stocken geraten

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Cite this

MLA

"falter." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/falter. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

falter. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/falter

Chicago

"falter." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/falter.

BibTeX

@misc{falter_2026,
  title = {falter},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/falter},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}