TEETER Synonyms: 79 Similar and Opposite Words

teeter

verb

ˈtē-tər

Definition of teeter

as in to falter

to swing unsteadily back and forth or from side to side he nervously teetered at the edge of the pool before finally diving in

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in to stagger

to move forward while swaying from side to side the toddler teetered down the rink in her new ice skates

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as in to hesitate

to show uncertainty about the right course of action was teetering on the brink of making a decision about college

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of teeter This entire situation is teetering on a knife’s edge right now. — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026 Lucarelli’s command teetered as the game lagged on the MacBook. — Stephen J. Nesbitt, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026 Zooming out, scout families sometimes teeter around debt to pay for the cookies. — Bedatri D. Choudhury, Bon Appetit Magazine, 11 Aug. 2026 Babylon 5 followed the diplomats, soldiers, and drifters aboard the station, built as neutral ground between humans and a handful of alien civilizations teetering on the edge of war. — Jp Mangalindan, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for teeter

Recent Examples of Synonyms for teeter

Verb

Wednesday’s ugly loss, in which Yoshinobu Yamamoto faltered after a strong start and the Dodgers crumbled late despite taking a 3-0 first-inning lead, was the latest example.

— Joaquin Ruiz, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026
This leadership vacuum raises serious questions about the agencies' ability to craft meaningful crypto rules, especially if the Senate's Clarity Act vote falters.

— Cleve Mesidor, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of falter

Verb

As the deli’s surveillance video rolled, his client went from calmly standing at the counter with a bottle of Gatorade to staggering to the floor, clutching his leg and tearing at his pants.

— Alison J. Stein, HubSpot, 1 Sep. 2026
Biden called for reforms, too, in his final year, recommending that the Court’s Justices be limited to eighteen-year terms, staggered so that Presidents could appoint one every two years.

— Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of stagger

Verb

The ball wobbled, but Fields got underneath it for about a 40-yard catch.

— Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 20 Aug. 2026
The thunder sound was a combination of wobbling window of shades of the ’40s to achieve that old school thunder sound that was layered in with some newer thunderclap sounds.

— Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of wobble

Verb

Then there are the fragmented attention spans birthed by our dearly beloved screens, which cultivate a kind of cognitive whiplash that vacillates between amnesia and yearning for more.

— Christopher Coffman, The Conversation, 24 Aug. 2026
Ellison and his executives have vacillated from anger to acceptance.

— Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of vacillate

Verb

Like a lot of us who tottered into consciousness in the second half of the 20th century, Les Claypool grew up with cartoons from the family television beaming into his retinas.

— Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork, 2 Aug. 2026
Outside, a gull tottered to the window and tapped its beak against the glass.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 July 2026

Definition of totter

Browse Nearby Words

tees off

teeter

teetered

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“Teeter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/teeter. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of teeter

verb

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