I. ˈfȯlteə(r) verb
( faltered ; faltered ; faltering -ltəriŋ, -l.tr- ; falters )
Etymology: Middle English falteren, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Icelandic faltrask to be burdened, be unsure, Faeroese fjaltra to tremble
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to walk in an unsteady or wavering manner : stumble , stagger
the naked stranger falters out of the thicket and drops to his knees — Dudley Fitts
b. : to be unsteady on one's feet : give way : totter
being eighty-nine, he had a chair … but … he stood without complaint or faltering — Joseph Bryan
he could feel his legs falter
c. : to move waveringly or unsteadily as if uncertain
her eyes faltered away from his — Erle Stanley Gardner
forced to bail out of faltering airplanes over the Alps — National Geographic
2. : to speak brokenly or weakly : hesitate , stammer
his voice faltered just the least bit — Joseph Conrad
3.
a. : to hesitate in purpose or action : waver , flinch
never faltered in his determination to make good
warned the Western democracies to suffer no division or faltering in their duty — Current Biography
b. : to lose drive, effectiveness, or momentum in some way : weaken , decline , fail
his powers of musical invention never falter or flag
when a symbolist poem falters for a moment it is irretrievably lost — Burns Singer
Britain's vaunted prosperity was faltering — Time
transitive verb
: to utter with hesitation or in a broken, trembling, or weak manner
falter an excuse
Synonyms: see hesitate
II. noun
( -s )
: the act or an instance of faltering
I managed to do what was required of me without falter — Lonnie Coleman
especially : quaver
a falter in her voice