falter

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishfalterfal‧ter /ˈfɔːltə $ ˈfɒːltər/ verb 1 EFFECTIVE[intransitive] to become weaker and unable to continue in an effective way The economy is showing signs of faltering. My mother’s grip upon the household never faltered.2 WEAK[intransitive, transitive] to speak in a voice that sounds weak and uncertain, and keeps stopping Laurie’s voice faltered as she tried to thank him. ‘I can’t, ’ she faltered.3 NOT SURE[intransitive] to become less certain and determined that you want to do something We must not falter in our resolve.4 PAUSE[intransitive] to stop walking or to walk in an unsteady way because you suddenly feel weak or afraid She faltered for a moment.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpusfalter• The peace talks seem to be faltering.• If we could cut off these lines of communication, their attack would usually falter.• Langetta faltered as he made his way up the steps.• Laurie's voice faltered as she tried to thank him.• We must not falter in our resolve to end the conflict.• Or consider that some of the nations long heralded as family planning success stories have faltered on the road to re-placement fertility.• Then she faltered on the threshold.• Sad to learn that those self-evident truths, necessary truths, faltered so badly when subjected to rigorous examination.• If that bargain now falters, so may efforts to tighten up the inspection regime that backs up the treaty.• His salacious grin faltered then disappeared and he glared at her, furious with himself for being tricked so easily.• But I couldn't give in; one monster is much like another - once you falter, you're done.Origin falter (1300-1400) Perhaps from a Scandinavian language

Exercises

Vocabulary exercises help you to learn synonyms, collocations and idioms.
Intermediate and Advanced level grammar practice with progress tests.
Listening and pronunciation, exam preparation and more!

Pictures of the day

What are these?

Click on the pictures to check.

Explore topics

See all topics

Word of the day forecast a description of what is likely to happen in the future, based on the information that you have now

Verb table

falter

Simple Form
Present
I, you, we, they	falter
he, she, it	falters
> View More
Past
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	faltered
Present perfect
I, you, we, they	have faltered
he, she, it	has faltered
Past perfect
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	had faltered
Future
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	will falter
Future perfect
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	will have faltered
> View Less

Continuous Form
Present
I	am faltering
he, she, it	is faltering
> View More
you, we, they	are faltering
Past
I, he, she, it	was faltering
you, we, they	were faltering
Present perfect
I, you, we, they	have been faltering
he, she, it	has been faltering
Past perfect
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	had been faltering
Future
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	will be faltering
Future perfect
I, you, he, she, it, we, they	will have been faltering
> View Less