Waverer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who repeatedly changes their mind or shows hesitation in making decisions or commitments
2. An individual who frequently oscillates in their choices or opinions, demonstrating a lack of resolve while often second-guessing themselves within varying contexts
3. A person who displays inconsistency in their choices or beliefs, often indecisive and unable to commit fully to a specific stance or action

Etymology: "Waverer" is simply "waver" plus the agent suffix "-er", meaning one who wavers. The suffix has a long ancestry: it descends from Latin "-arius", which English received partly through Old French "-ier", and it reached English in the form "-ere" in Old English times, where it was used to form nouns for doers of an action. Waver itself is an older verb, so the new word follows a very old pattern in English. The interesting part is the suffix's route. The Latin "-arius" marked people connected with a trade or role, and it passed into Germanic languages before returning to English as the more familiar "-er". The same ending appears in words like "baker" and "writer", so "waverer" sits in a large family of person-nouns built on that single piece.

Synonyms: vacillator, fence-sitter

Antonyms: decider, determined