Waver, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Wavered; p. pr. & vb. n. Wavering.]
Etymology: [OE. waveren, from AS. wæfre wavering, restless. See Wave, v. i.]
1. To play or move to and fro; to move one way and the other; hence, to totter; to reel; to swing; to flutter. With banners and pennons wavering with the wind. Ld. Berners. Thou wouldst waver on one of these trees as a terror to all evil speakers against dignities. Sir W. Scott.
2. To be unsettled in opinion; to vacillate; to be undetermined; to fluctuate; as, to water in judgment. Let us hold fast . . . without wavering. Heb. x. 23. In feeble hearts, propense enough before To waver, or fall off and join with idols. Milton.
Syn. -- To reel; totter; vacillate. See Fluctuate.
1 other Webster entry under this spelling
Waver, n.
A sapling left standing in a fallen wood. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for waver; he lists it under fluctuate, shake.
Where he writes about it:
As regards mental states, he who hesitates sticks (L. haerere) on the verge of decision; he who wavers does not stick to a decision; he who vacillates decides now one way, and now another; one vacillates between contrasted decisions or actions; he may waver between decision and indecision, or between action and inaction. — from fluctuate
Persons hesitate, vacillate, waver; feelings fluctuate or vary. — from fluctuate