Synonyms of tottering

tottering 1 of 2

adjective

ˈtä-tə-riŋ 

as in shaking

marked by or given to small uncontrollable bodily movements

after the accident, she was only able to take a few tottering steps at a time

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shaking
• trembling
• trembly
• quivering
• shuddering
• shaky
• shivering
• wobbly
• wobbling
• quaking
• tottery
• tremulous
• atremble
• quavery
• unsteady
• shuddery
• aquiver
• convulsive
• throbbing
• wavering
• rocky
• shivery
• unstable
• pulsating
• palpitating
• wavery
• staggery

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• stable
• steady
• controlled
• firm
• settled

tottering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of totter

1

as in staggering

to move forward while swaying from side to side

tottered around the house as she practiced walking in high heels

Synonyms & Similar Words

• staggering
• lurching
• teetering
• weaving
• shuffling
• waddling
• stumbling
• rolling
• stomping
• reeling
• careening
• rocking
• doddering
• swaying
• wobbling
• wavering
• floundering
• shambling
• blundering
• seesawing
• pounding
• stamping
• scuffling
• tramping
• barging
• swagging
• clumping
• lumbering
• clomping
• scuffing
• galumphing
• lumping
• tromping

2

as in faltering

to swing unsteadily back and forth or from side to side

the figurine tottered precariously for a moment before falling off the shelf

Synonyms & Similar Words

• faltering
• trembling
• wobbling
• shaking
• rocking
• shuddering
• wavering
• teetering
• lurching
• vibrating
• quivering
• stumbling
• quaking
• floundering
• toddling
• staggering
• quavering
• reeling
• weaving
• careening

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of tottering

Adjective

Neither of them understands the other’s dynamic with Daniel, and the split-episode format keeps our sympathies teeter-tottering between each woman. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025

Verb

In an accompanying cartoon, Spark is caricatured as a sulking giant, tottering above the Tuscan countryside in a pair of high heels. — Literary Hub, 9 June 2026

Among them a City boy wearing three Fit-Bit-type devices, two beautiful Middle Eastern sisters, an outrageously pompous elderly American (sorry; eavesdropping), and several Imelda Marcos lookalikes, tottering out of the treatment rooms with, somehow, their elaborate hairstyles still intact. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026

Models are tottering on the cobblestoned Bond Street with their heels getting stuck in the rivets. — Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 13 Feb. 2026

Now, even that tiny effort is tottering. — Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 27 Jan. 2026