1
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
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2
as in to stagger
to move forward while swaying from side to side
the toddler teetered down the rink in her new ice skates
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
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
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Recent Examples of teeter
That event led to a 22% decline in the population of Rice’s whales, a devastating impact on a species teetering on the edge of survival.
—
Christian Wagley, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Jan. 2026
Dashcam and bystander video captured the SUV spinning out of control and sliding off the road, before coming to rest against a tree, teetering hundreds of feet above the slope below.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 31 Dec. 2025
All of this is taking place as the box office is in a rut, cable is in free fall and the overall economy is teetering.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 31 Dec. 2025
In response to my prod, the bot merely teeters.
—James Vincent, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for teeter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for teeter
Verb
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Rayo began 2023-24 well under Iraola’s successor Francisco Rodriguez but then started to falter.—
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The Rams did not falter and an 80-yard kickoff return touchdown for Jameson Bongiolatti cut the deficit to 21-7.—
Verb
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The Bills had a pretty cushy road schedule this year, playing once outside the Eastern time zone, yet staggered around early.—
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The Packers staggered to the finish with a four-game losing streak but will have quarterback Jordan Love (concussion) back.—
Verb
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But Maye doesn’t hesitate to break the pocket and scramble towards daylight when things break down.—
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Many people like the idea of innovation but hesitate to share the road with fully autonomous vehicles.—
Verb
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This fall, after a historic bull run, markets started to wobble—in part due to fears of an AI bubble.—
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Picture a wobbling human jenga tower.—
Verb
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This can result in a kind of emotional whiplash, with the tone of the videos lurching between joy and devastation.—
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Perry’s films can lurch from romance to madcap Madea comedy to skeletons-in-the-closet family drama and back…all in the space of 20 minutes.—
Verb
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Ware has vacillated out of and then into and then out of and now back into the starting lineup.—
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Since then, academic institutions at nearly every level have vacillated between outright AI bans to formal partnerships with AI companies.—
Verb
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The kind of person who trembles at watermarks is not the sort of person who dares to put marble in the dishwasher.—
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The Maine trembled and angled up, then listed to port, throwing him from his chair.—
Verb
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Women often totter along a delicate line between beauty and torture, femininity and the bondage of expectation.—
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But The Gilded Age doesn’t do pure villains with its main cast, and Oscar totters between failson and tragic figure, the closeted heir of the Van Rhijn family dragged to hell and back after being defrauded of his mother’s fortune.—
Cite this Entry
“Teeter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/teeter. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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