faint vs waver

faint

verb
  • To lose courage or spirit; to become depressed or despondent. 

  • To decay; to disappear; to vanish. 

  • To lose consciousness through a lack of oxygen or nutrients to the brain, usually as a result of suddenly reduced blood flow (may be caused by emotional trauma, loss of blood or various medical conditions). 

adj
  • Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to lose consciousness 

  • Performed, done, or acted, weakly; not exhibiting vigor, strength, or energy 

  • Slight; minimal. 

  • Barely perceptible; not bright, or loud, or sharp 

  • Lacking courage, spirit, or energy; cowardly; dejected 

noun
  • The act of fainting, syncope. 

  • The state of one who has fainted; a swoon. 

waver

verb
  • To falter; become unsteady; begin to fail or give way. 

  • To sway back and forth; to totter or reel. 

  • To fluctuate or vary, as commodity prices or a poorly sustained musical pitch. 

  • To shake or tremble, as the hands or voice. 

  • To be indecisive between choices; to feel or show doubt or indecision; to vacillate. 

  • To flicker, glimmer, quiver, as a weak light. 

noun
  • Someone who specializes in waving (hair treatment). 

  • Someone who waves, enjoys waving, etc. 

  • An act of wavering, vacillating, etc. 

  • A tool that accomplishes hair waving. 

How often have the words faint and waver occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )