waver

/ˈweɪvəɹ/verb, noun

waver is spelled W-A-V-E-R: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,336th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “waiver vs waver” about 1,600 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, waver means “To swing or wave, especially in the air, wind, etc.; to flutter” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in waver?

Letters	5: W-A-V-E-R
Syllables	2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing	about once in every 2 million words; the 39,336th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searched	none measured in search
Pairs people search	waiver vs waver
Sounds like	waiver
Rhymes with	favor flavor waiver saver more

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is waver?

Waver appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,336th most frequent word form in the list.

waver0.0010.010.11101001,00010,000

rarerper million words of written Englishmore common

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce waver?

UK /ˈweɪvə/
US /ˈweɪvəɹ/

Waver has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-waver.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with waver

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

waiver vs waver1,600 G

Sounds like: waiver (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with waver?

9 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as waver from its last stressed vowel (/eɪvəɹ/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of waver

wavers present, singular, he/she/it, plural
wavering participle, present
wavered participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does waver mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

1
To swing or wave, especially in the air, wind, etc.; to flutter.
Flowers wavered in the breeze.
2
datedTo move without purpose or a specified destination; to roam, to wander.
3
archaicTo sway back and forth, as if about to fall; to reel, to stagger, to totter.
4
To begin to weaken or show signs of weakening in resolve; to falter, to flinch, to give way.
Despite all the terrible things that happened to her, she never wavered from her beliefs.
5
To feel or show doubt or indecision; to be indecisive between choices; to vacillate.
6
Of a body part such as an eye or hand, or the voice: to become unsteady; to shake, to tremble.
His voice wavered when the reporter brought up the controversial topic.
7
Of light, shadow, or a partly obscured thing: to flicker, to glimmer, to quiver.
8
Chiefly of a quality or thing: to change, to fluctuate, to vary.

noun

1
An act of moving back and forth, swinging, or waving; a flutter, a tremble.
2
A state of beginning to weaken or showing signs of weakening in resolve; a falter.
3
A state of feeling or showing doubt or indecision; a vacillation.
4
One who waves their arms, or causes something to swing or wave.
I felt encouraged by all the enthusiastic wavers in the crowd.
5
A person who specializes in treating hair to make it wavy.
6
A tool used to make hair wavy.
7
In full waver roller: a roller which places ink on the inking table of a printing press with a back and forth, waving motion.
8
obsoleteSynonym of waverer (“one who feels or shows doubt or indecision; a vacillator”).
9
datedA sapling or other young tree left standing when other trees around it have been felled.