Difference between waver and waiver

This is part of the difference between series.

Recently, someone asked me to explain the difference between the words waver and waiver. Here’s the difference between the two.

Waver

Waver is a verb that means something like being unsteady or undecided.

  • In the end, her courage wavered as she stood to jump from the plane.
  • After his mother died, his faith in God wavered.

Waiver

Waiver, on the other hand, is a noun that refers to the process of waiving something (or a token of that process), and to waive something means to dismiss it.

  • Because he has lots his job, his landlord gave him a waiver for that month’s rent.
  • The developer was friends with the development officer, so he secured a waiver for his building’s excess height.
  • Before the photographer started taking photographs, she had her clients sign a usage waiver.

Which words do you confuse? Let me know in the comments below.

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By Kim Siever

I am a copywriter and copyeditor. I blog on writing and social media tips mostly, but I sometimes throw in my thoughts about running a small business. Follow me on Twitter at @hotpepper.