waver

«waver» in Mova's school dictionary: To be unsure and keep changing your mind; to hesitate:… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 3 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (waver, wavers, wavered, wavering)

meaning for a pupil

1) To be unsure and keep changing your mind; to hesitate: she wavered between the red and the blue. tree →

2) To become weaker or less steady: his courage wavered. tree →

3) To move or shake unsteadily: the candle flame wavered. tree →

4) Of a voice: to shake. tree →

sense in the lessons

Used in stories to show doubt or fear: the hero's courage wavers. Everyday: wavering between choices. Values: «unwavering» loyalty. Science: a flame wavers in a draught. Toad's good promises always waver when he sees a motor car.

examples

• She wavered between the two puppies. tree →
• His voice wavered as he spoke. tree →
• Toad's good resolutions wavered at the sound of a horn. tree →
• The candle flame wavered in the wind. tree →
• Her courage never wavered. tree →
• He wavered at the edge of the diving board. tree →
• But the prince did not waver, and declared he would abide by his words. tree →

note

Regular verb: wavered, wavering. Homophone trap: waver (to hesitate) and waiver (giving up a right, in law). Adjective: unwavering = steady, never doubting.

In the corpora

• The Rat sees how much the Mole wants it, and wavers.
• «The Rat saw what was passing in his mind, and wavered.
• Judge me, O LORD, for I have walked in mine integrity, and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «waver» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.