Meaning

7 senses
  1. To waver or be unsteady; to weaken or trail off.

    wanken, wackeln, schwächeln

    дрогнутьdrognutʹ

    похитнутисяpoxytnutysja, хитатисяxytatysja

  2. (ambitransitive)To stammer; to utter with hesitation, or in a weak and trembling manner.

  3. To fail in distinctness or regularity of exercise; said of the mind or of thought.

  4. To stumble.

    stolpern, straucheln

    оступатьсяostupatʹsja, спотыкатьсяspotykatʹsja

    спотикатисяspotykatysja

  5. (figuratively)To lose faith or vigor; to doubt or abandon (a cause).

  6. To hesitate in purpose or action.

    zögern, zaudern, ins Stocken geraten

    вагатисяvahatysja

  7. To cleanse or sift, as barley.

More definitions
  • move hesitatingly, as if about to give way
  • be unsure or weak
  • walk unsteadily, tripping repeatedly
  • speak haltingly

Examples

19 sentences
  1. We can't allow ourselves to falter.

    deWir können es uns nicht leisten zu scheitern.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · Miktsoanit · B2Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  2. We never saw him hesitate or falter.

    deWir sahen ihn nie zögern oder zagen.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · sundown · B2Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  3. Her voice always falters when she mentions her late father.

    ruЕё голос всегда дрожит, когда она говорит о покойном отце.

    deIhre Stimme stockt jedes Mal, wenn sie ihren verstorbenen Vater erwähnt.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · AlanF_US · B2Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  4. As the economy faltered, his business was no longer profitable.

    CC0 · Tatoeba · Cangarejo · B2Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  5. He faltered at the last second, costing them the game.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · Babelball · B2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

Translations

7 languages
Українська
By meaning 3
To waver or be unsteady:
To stumble:
To hesitate:
Русский
By meaning 2
To waver or be unsteady:
To stumble:
Deutsch
By meaning 3
To waver or be unsteady:
To stumble:
To hesitate:

Origin

From Middle English falteren (“to stagger; be unsteady, tremble, quiver; to stammer; be en

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.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

falters, faltering, faltered, faltered
Base formfalter · to falter
3rd person singularfalters
Present participlefaltering
Past simplefaltered
Past participlefaltered

irregular

Present simpleLesson

I, you, we, theyfalter
he, she, itfalters

Past simpleLesson

all personsfaltered

Present perfectLesson

I, you, we, theyhave faltered
he, she, ithas faltered

Future simple (will)Lesson

all personswill falter

Synonyms

6 synonyms
Close in meaning

Word family

2 related words
Relatedfaltering
Derivedfalterer

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
falter — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto