Thesaurus results for TOTTERED

tottered

verb

past tense of totter

as in staggered

to move forward while swaying from side to side tottered around the house as she practiced walking in high heels

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as in faltered

to swing unsteadily back and forth or from side to side the figurine tottered precariously for a moment before falling off the shelf

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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 tottered 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, 13 July 2026 On the floor, waist-high piles of books tottered like miniature leaning towers of Pisa. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tottered

Verb

Adebayo and Antetokounmpo shared the court for most their playing time in the Heat’s preseason opener, but Heat coach Erik Spoelstra staggered their minutes in the Heat’s second exhibition in Thursday’s preseason win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

— Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2026
The talent is still there, but Herbert has staggered to a dismal start.

— Sam Jane, Denver Post, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of staggered

Verb

On top of all of that, the AI trade faltered this week amid growing concerns that some companies are issuing too much debt to build out their AI networks.

— Fred Imbert, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026
This week a deal for Volta Infrastructure faltered as investors feeling full-up on data center debt demanded higher yields.

— Ellen DiMauro, semafor.com, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of faltered

Verb

The crossing left at least 140 migrants dead and shook the city perched on the Mediterranean coast.

— JOSEPH WILSON, Arkansas Online, 14 Oct. 2026
Both were arrested and were being held in separate prisons in the central city of Isfahan over their participation in the nationwide January protests that shook the Islamic republic.

— Frank Andrews, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of shook

Verb

Conservatives shuddered to think how close the country had come to permanent entangling alliances.

— Beverly Gage, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
McDonald’s shares fell nearly 5% Wednesday, their largest percentage drop since April 2025, as investors shuddered at the eye-popping price of improving McDonald’s 46,000 global stores.

— Dee-Ann Durbin, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of shuddered

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“Tottered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tottered. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of tottered

verb

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