falter
To lose confidence and begin to hesitate or stumble.
falter in a sentence
- Halfway through her speech, Nina's voice began to falter, but she took a deep breath and carried on.
- The tightrope walker did not falter once, placing each foot steadily despite the wobbling rope.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to falter?
- Acontinue
- Bsteady
- Cadvance
- Dstumble
Show the answer
D: stumble. The other three mean the opposite of falter.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to falter?
- Acontinue
- Bstumble
- Cwobble
- Dhesitate
Show the answer
A: continue. The other three mean nearly the same as falter.
Words that mean something similar
stumble, hesitate, wobble
Words that mean the opposite
continue, advance, steady
More words about movement & action
- feat: An act that takes great skill, strength or courage.
- flail: To wave your arms and legs about wildly.
- flee: To run away from danger.
- fleet: Fast and nimble in movement.
- flinch: To make a small, sudden movement because of pain, fear or surprise.
- forage: To search for food in the wild.
- frolic: To play and jump about happily.
- fumble: To handle something clumsily or keep dropping it.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test