Falter

6 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Falter \Fal"ter\, n. [See {Falter}, v. i.]
     Hesitation; trembling; feebleness; an uncertain or broken
     sound; as, a slight falter in her voice.
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           The falter of an idle shepherd's pipe.   --Lowell.


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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Falter \Fal"ter\, v. t.
     To thrash in the chaff; also, to cleanse or sift, as barley.
     [Prov. Eng.] --Halliwell.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Falter \Fal"ter\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Faltered}; p. pr. & vb.
     n. {Faltering}.] [OE. falteren, faltren, prob. from fault.
     See {Fault}, v. & n.]
     1. To hesitate; to speak brokenly or weakly; to stammer; as,
        his tongue falters.
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              With faltering speech and visage incomposed.
                                                    --Milton.
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     2. To tremble; to totter; to be unsteady. "He found his legs
        falter." --Wiseman.
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     3. To hesitate in purpose or action.
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              Ere her native king
              Shall falter under foul rebellion's arms. --Shak.
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     4. To fail in distinctness or regularity of exercise; -- said
        of the mind or of thought.
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              Here indeed the power of disinct conception of space
              and distance falters.                 --I. Taylor.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Falter \Fal"ter\, v. t.
     To utter with hesitation, or in a broken, trembling, or weak
     manner.
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           And here he faltered forth his last farewell. --Byron.
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           Mde me most happy, faltering "I am thine." --Tennyson.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  falter
       n : the act of pausing uncertainly; "there was a hesitation in
           his speech" [syn: {hesitation}, {waver}, {faltering}]
       v 1: be unsure or weak; "Their enthusiasm is faltering" [syn: {waver}]
       2: move hesitatingly, as if about to give way [syn: {waver}]
       3: walk unsteadily; "The drunk man stumbled about" [syn: {stumble},
           {bumble}]
       4: speak haltingly; "The speaker faltered when he saw his
          opponent enter the room" [syn: {bumble}, {stutter}, {stammer}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  190 Moby Thesaurus words for "falter":
     Bebung, abandon hope, back down, back out, balance, bashfulness,
     blench, blunder, bob, bobble, boggle, boggling, bounce, bump,
     careen, career, caution, cautiousness, chatter, chicken,
     chicken out, compunction, dally, dawdle, debate, delay, deliberate,
     demur, demurral, desert under fire, despair, despair of, despond,
     didder, diffidence, dillydally, dither, drag, faltering, fear,
     fight shy of, flag, flinch, flounce, flounder, flutter, funk,
     funk out, get cold feet, give up, give up hope, give way, goof off,
     grimace, halt, hang back, hang in doubt, hang off, have an ague,
     have qualms, haw, hem, hem and haw, hesitance, hesitancy, hesitate,
     hesitating, hesitation, hold off, hover, hum, hum and haw, hustle,
     jactitate, jar, jerk, jib, jig, jigget, jiggle, jog, joggle, jolt,
     jostle, jounce, jump, labor, lag, linger, loiter, lollygag,
     lose courage, lose heart, lose hope, lurch, make bones about,
     mammer, modesty, objection, pause, pitch, pitch and plunge, plunge,
     ponder, protest, pull back, quail, quake, qualm,
     qualm of conscience, qualmishness, quaver, quiver, recoil, reel,
     retreat, rictus, rock, roll, scruple, scrupulosity, scrupulousness,
     scuttle, seethe, shake, shilly-shally, shilly-shallying, shiver,
     shock, shrink, shrinking, shudder, shy, shy at, shyness,
     sink into despair, skedaddle, stagger, stammer, stick at, stickle,
     stickling, stop to consider, straddle the fence, strain, strain at,
     struggle, stumble, stutter, sway, swing, tarry, tentativeness,
     think twice, think twice about, thrash about, tic, topple, toss,
     toss and tumble, toss and turn, totter, trail, tremble, tremolando,
     tremolant, tremolo, tremor, trill, trillet, trilleto, trillo,
     tumble, twitch, twitter, vacillate, vibrate, vibrato, volutation,
     wallop, wallow, waste time, waver, welter, whine, wince, withdraw,
     wobble, yield, yield to despair