---
title: waver — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «waver» in the school dictionary: To be unsure and keep changing your mind; to hesitate: she wavered between the red and the blue. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# waver

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** you, she, your, courage, candle flame, voice · **What happens:** be, keep, change, hesitate, waver, mind · **To what, where:** mind, red, sound, wind, edge · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«waver» in the school dictionary: its 4 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [waver in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/waver.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To be unsure and keep changing your mind; to hesitate: she wavered between the red and the blue.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waver:m1:1
# text = To be unsure and keep changing your mind; to hesitate: she wavered between the red and the blue.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	3	mark	_	_
2	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	cop	_	_
3	unsure	unsure	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	advcl	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	keep	keep	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	changing	change	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	xcomp	_	_
7	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	mind	mind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	hesitate	hesitate	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	14	punct	_	_
13	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
14	wavered	waver	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
15	between	between	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	red	red	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	obl	_	_
18	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	blue	blue	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | unsure *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **keep** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **change** | gerund | you *not said here* | your mind |  |  |  |  | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent mind=Patient |
| 4 | **hesitate** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn linger-53.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent |
| 5 | **waver** | past | she |  |  | the red |  |  | vn modes\_of\_being\_with\_motion-47.3 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme between red=Location |
| 6 | **mind** |  | your |  |  |  |  |  | nom mind «cognition transitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To become weaker or less steady: his courage wavered.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waver:m2:1
# text = To become weaker or less steady: his courage wavered.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	become	become	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	advcl	_	_
3	weaker	weak	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	2	xcomp	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	less	less	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	3	conj	_	_
6	steady	steady	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	2	punct	_	_
8	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	courage	courage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
10	wavered	waver	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **become** | to-infinitive | his courage *not said here* |  |  |  |  | weak *property* | vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **waver** | past | his courage |  |  |  |  |  | vn modes\_of\_being\_with\_motion-47.3 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To move or shake unsteadily: the candle flame wavered.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waver:m3:1
# text = To move or shake unsteadily: the candle flame wavered.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	move	move	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	_
3	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	shake	shake	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	unsteadily	unsteadily	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	candle	candle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	flame	flame	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
10	wavered	waver	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **move** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **shake** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | unsteadily *property* | vn shake-22.3-2 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Patient |
| 3 | **waver** | past | the candle flame |  |  |  |  |  | vn modes\_of\_being\_with\_motion-47.3 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Of a voice: to shake.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waver:m4:1
# text = Of a voice: to shake.
1	Of	of	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	voice	voice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	6	punct	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	shake	shake	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **shake** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | of a voice | vn funnel-9.3-1-1 «NP V NP PP.trajectory»: agent=Agent of voice=Trajectory |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She wavered between the two puppies.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waver:x1:1
# text = She wavered between the two puppies.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wavered	waver	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	between	between	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	puppies	puppy	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **waver** | past | She |  |  |  |  | between the two puppies | vn modes\_of\_being\_with\_motion-47.3 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme between puppy=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
His voice wavered as he spoke.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waver:x2:1
# text = His voice wavered as he spoke.
1	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	voice	voice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	wavered	waver	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
5	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	spoke	speak	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **waver** | past | His voice |  |  |  |  |  | vn modes\_of\_being\_with\_motion-47.3 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **speak** *speech: other* | past | voice |  |  |  |  |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Toad's good resolutions wavered at the sound of a horn.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waver:x3:1
# text = Toad's good resolutions wavered at the sound of a horn.
1	Toad	Toad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	's	PART	POS	_	1	case	_	_
3	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	resolutions	resolution	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
5	wavered	waver	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	horn	horn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **waver** | past | Toad's good resolutions |  |  | the sound of a horn |  |  | vn modes\_of\_being\_with\_motion-47.3 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme at sound=Location |
| 2 | **resolve** |  | Toad |  |  |  |  |  | nom resolution «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The candle flame wavered in the wind.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waver:x4:1
# text = The candle flame wavered in the wind.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	candle	candle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	flame	flame	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	wavered	waver	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	wind	wind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **waver** | past | the candle flame |  |  | the wind |  |  | vn modes\_of\_being\_with\_motion-47.3 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in wind=Location |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Her courage never wavered.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waver:x5:1
# text = Her courage never wavered.
1	Her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	courage	courage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	wavered	waver	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **waver** | past | Her courage |  |  |  |  |  | vn modes\_of\_being\_with\_motion-47.3 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He wavered at the edge of the diving board.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waver:x6:1
# text = He wavered at the edge of the diving board.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wavered	waver	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	at	at	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	edge	edge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	diving	diving	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	board	board	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **waver** | past | He |  |  | the edge of the diving board |  |  | vn modes\_of\_being\_with\_motion-47.3 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme at edge=Location |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
But the prince did not waver, and declared he would abide by his words.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:waver:x7:1
# text = But the prince did not waver, and declared he would abide by his words.
1	But	but	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	prince	prince	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
5	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
6	waver	waver	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	declared	declare	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	advcl	_	_
10	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
11	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	_
12	abide	abide	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	xcomp	_	_
13	by	by	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	15	nmod:poss	_	_
15	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **waver** | past · do-support | the prince |  |  |  |  |  | vn modes\_of\_being\_with\_motion-47.3 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **declare** *speech: other* | past | the prince *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn declare-29.4-1-1-1 «NP V what S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 3 | **abide** | would | prince |  |  |  |  | by prince's words | tree rules |
| 4 | **word** |  | prince |  |  |  |  |  | nom word «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
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