variants
also wabbles
1
as in quivers
to make a series of small irregular or violent movements
the patient's hand wobbles so much that he can scarcely hold a glass of water
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in lurches
to make a series of unsteady side-to-side motions
the table wobbled whenever I leaned on it
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in hesitates
to show uncertainty about the right course of action
we cannot afford to have the governor wobble at this critical time
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in falters
to swing unsteadily back and forth or from side to side
the drunk stood up, wobbled for a moment, and fell forward
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of wobbles
John Hope Bryant, Time, 6 Sep. 2025
Land awkwardly on the kerb and your rider wobbles convincingly.
—Griff Griffin, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
Noun
Our economy wobbles but returns to growth.
—John Hope Bryant, Time, 6 Sep. 2025
Land awkwardly on the kerb and your rider wobbles convincingly.
—Griff Griffin, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wobbles
Verb
-
Noah Cameron shakes off rocky 1st inning Sunday didn’t start well for Royals rookie starter Noah Cameron.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
14 Sep. 2025
-
One team member gets to see an object in a box, then the other team members have to guess what that person saw, using only facial expressions (no nods or head shakes) as clues.—
Matthew Jackson,
Vulture,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
That film begins with charismatic bank robber Ryan Gosling in a thrilling motorcycle escape from the cops, and moves through several twists and turns, lurches forward in time, and holds Gosling at its heart as a man doing bad things for good reasons.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Translate it poorly, and even the best technology hesitates off the line.—
Kate Hardcastle,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
But Andreia Alexander, an ER doctor in Indiana, told me that patients should not want a doctor who hesitates to save their life.—
Olga Khazan,
The Atlantic,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Deals collapse when communication falters.—
Allen Buchanan,
Oc Register,
13 Sep. 2025
-
That stat alone underscores how well the starting rotation has held up, even as the relief corps falters.—
Julio Cesar Valdera Morales,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The quake hit at a depth of about 7 miles and was centered roughly 40 miles southeast of Athens, where tremors were felt but no immediate damage or injuries were reported.—
Shane Croucher
John Feng,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Daniel now lives with essential tremors, a condition that causes involuntary shaking of the head and hands.—
Bill Schiffmiller,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The museum gets off with a bang by taking guests on a simulated trip to space in a high-tech elevator lined with pin-sharp ultra-HD screens and a floor which gently sways to simulate zero gravity.—
Caroline Reid,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Yet, across the water, a seemingly impenetrable wall of the invasive plants sways in the wind, several feet tall.—
Adriana Pérez,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Unlike traditional applications requiring instant responses, AI operations can tolerate delays—training waits minutes while applications like ChatGPT work perfectly, delivering responses over hundreds of milliseconds.—
Daniel Kearney,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Driven by the balance between gravity and inertia, the weight shifts automatically as vibrations change.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Sep. 2025
-
As the seas warm, researchers have found that sound carries farther, and that rising acidity alters the very chemistry of how vibrations move through saltwater, reshaping the pathways of song and echo.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wobbles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wobbles. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share