1
as in to falter
to swing unsteadily back and forth or from side to side
he nervously teetered at the edge of the pool before finally diving in
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to stagger
to move forward while swaying from side to side
the toddler teetered down the rink in her new ice skates
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to hesitate
to show uncertainty about the right course of action
was teetering on the brink of making a decision about college
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of teeter
The scientists say the most likely culprit behind the mysterious pulsing is a white dwarf—a dense stellar remnant about the size of the Earth—that’s teetering precariously close to the black hole.
—
Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Jan. 2025
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) team thinks that a dead stellar core, or white dwarf, daringly teetering on the edge of the black hole is the cause of increasingly frequent explosions of high-energy light.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 13 Jan. 2025
Aardman has always embraced their home country, not just by almost exclusively employing British actors, but also in their humor — wry, self-aware, and constantly teetering on the line between silly and absurd.
—Vikram Murthi, Vulture, 3 Jan. 2025
This ability allows females to reproduce without males, a genetic lifeline for species teetering on the brink of extinction.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for teeter 
Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Jan. 2025
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) team thinks that a dead stellar core, or white dwarf, daringly teetering on the edge of the black hole is the cause of increasingly frequent explosions of high-energy light.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 13 Jan. 2025
Aardman has always embraced their home country, not just by almost exclusively employing British actors, but also in their humor — wry, self-aware, and constantly teetering on the line between silly and absurd.
—Vikram Murthi, Vulture, 3 Jan. 2025
This ability allows females to reproduce without males, a genetic lifeline for species teetering on the brink of extinction.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for teeter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for teeter
Verb
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Her breaking point came during a task that repeatedly pulled the interlocked participants under frigid water: The soggy Sutter faltered when running from the beach with a 30-pound rucksack.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA TODAY,
16 Jan. 2025
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Over the course of the war, ceasefire negotiations have faltered at the eleventh hour on several occasions.—
Alexis Simendinger,
The Hill,
15 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The Bruins needed offense from the center, especially after Elias Lindholm staggered at the start.—
Fluto Shinzawa,
The Athletic,
14 Jan. 2025
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On November 28, 1924, Raymond A. Dart, a professor at the University of Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, was getting ready to attend a friend’s wedding when a pair of South African Railways workers staggered up his driveway with two large crates.—
Elizabeth Kolbert,
The New Yorker,
13 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Such tools can be game-changers for individuals who, for any number of deeply human reasons, hesitate to seek care.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes,
20 Jan. 2025
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But in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal , Warren Buffett’s middle child Howard, who will eventually become Berkshire’s nonexecutive chairman, hesitated when asked about Berkshire’s future dividend policy.—
Yun Li,
CNBC,
19 Jan. 2025
Verb
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There’s even a shot of a monitor on wheels rolling down the hall, wobbling anxiously as Nwodim’s onscreen interview relates her own sudden, shaky-legged journey.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
16 Jan. 2025
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Meteorologist Ryan Maue, posting on X, said, that the Canadian Arctic 'polar vortex' is predicted to wobble into the Great Lakes and Southeast into mid-January.—
Christopher Cann,
USA TODAY,
31 Dec. 2024
Verb
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With a little modulation in either mode, the throttle is responsive without lurching.—
Kristin Shaw,
Forbes,
13 Jan. 2025
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But Fleming And John play their unholy hybrid with absolute conviction, the drums thundering and guitars lurching as Fleming McWilliams howls out her best Robert Plant.—
Marc Hirsh,
Vulture,
21 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Trump himself has vacillated between siding with the populist and nationalist conservatives who have been his enduring supporters, many of them seeking a new blue-collar GOP, and businesses claiming to be starved for labor.—
W. James Antle III,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
28 Dec. 2024
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Charli’s beats are tailor-made for the club, with lyrics vacillating between braggadocious bombast to reflections on grief and insecurity.—
Scottie Andrew,
CNN,
14 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Ali studied the medal for a moment, smiled and lifted it to his lips with his right hand — his left hand trembling steadily — and kissed it.—
Mikal Gilmore,
Rolling Stone,
17 Jan. 2025
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Anxious dogs and cats may pace around a room, tremble, shed fur, or compulsively vomit up meals.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
15 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Then there's the small, sweet moments—video of my goddaughter tottering in her first pair of shoes; my cat caught mid-yawn; a selfie of me and my dad on a date to the symphony.—
Malia Griggs,
Glamour,
18 Dec. 2024
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Iraqi state institutions such as these were already tottering, and these actions threaten to erode them further.—
Michael Knights,
Foreign Affairs,
5 June 2023
Thesaurus Entries Near teeter
Cite this Entry
“Teeter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/teeter. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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