Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🦶 Limping ⏸️ Slow and unsure
halting

halting

9.9
Unable to walk well because of weak or injured legs
  • adjective
  • /ˈhɔltɪŋ/
  • Archaic
translation icon : cojo
  • After the accident, she walked with a halting gait, using a cane for support.

Examples

  • The old man moved with halting footsteps, struggling to keep his balance.

  • His halting movements suggested he had once been an athlete but was now struggling.

  • [HALTING FOOTSTEPS APPROACH]

    A Christmas Carol (2009)

Synonyms

lame
vshalting
29 4.1

Unable to walk properly because of an injury to a leg

focuses on general walking difficulty rather than an obvious limp
halt
vshalting
  • Archaic
9.9

Unable to walk easily because of a problem in the legs

has difficulty walking rather than complete inability
game
vshalting
  • Archaic
9.1

Having an injured foot or leg that makes walking difficult

is about walking difficulty in general not only a single injured limb

Antonyms

able
∞ 1.0

Having the skill or power to do something

How Mobile

mobile
81 2.7
unsteady
16 3.3
limping
2 4.4
halting
  • Archaic
9.9
crippled
  • Slur
1 5.8

Surface Forms

halting positive

Morphology

halting = halt (semi-transparent) = halt + ing

The adjective meaning 'lame' is historically related to 'halt' meaning 'to limp', but that sense is archaic and may not be known to modern learners who know 'halt' primarily as 'stop'.

Etymology

Halting comes from the old English word halt, which meant 'lame' or 'limping', so a halting person was someone who had trouble walking.