​​falter    英 /'fɔːltə/   美 /'fɔltɚ/
[verb] to become weaker or less effective
[动词] 衰退;停步不前

【经济学人例句】

Britain's faltering economy is part of the explanation.
英国摇摇欲坠的经济是促成这一现象的部分原因。

With investment now tailing off inland, their growth is also beginning to falter.
随着如今向内陆的投资逐渐减少， 这些地区的经济增长也开始减弱。

Corporate debt is a likelier source of trouble, but a rising oil price has eased pressure on indebted
energy firms, the most likely to falter.
公司债务出麻烦的可能性更大， 但油价上涨已让那些负债累累而最有可能垮台的能源公司松了一口气。

Three other lines of buoys and floats have recently been installed across the Atlantic in order to understand the transfer of deep water from the North Atlantic southwards, a flow which is fundamental to the dynamics of all the world’s oceans, and which may falter in a warmer climate.
人们最近在大西洋上安装了三条新浮标和浮子， 以便了解深水从北大西洋向南转移的情况。 这一洋流情况对全世界所有海洋的动态都至关重要， 并且可能会随着气候转暖而衰退。

If faltering American growth threatened to increase unemployment or push already-low inflation down further, the Federal Reserve could ease monetary policy.
如果美国经济增长步履蹒跚， 眼看要推高失业率， 或推动已经很低的通胀进一步下滑，美联储可能会放宽货币政策。


词说

Falter一词源自 fold（折叠），现在引申为“因不自信而畏缩不前，开始衰退”。如a faltering economy（停滞不前的经济）。它还可以表示嗓音颤抖、吞吞吐吐。​​​​