diff --git a/apps/web/core/debates/matchmaking/matchmaking-claim-card.tsx b/apps/web/core/debates/matchmaking/matchmaking-claim-card.tsx
index f15c3f9f14..a9ca7fcfbd 100644
--- a/apps/web/core/debates/matchmaking/matchmaking-claim-card.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/core/debates/matchmaking/matchmaking-claim-card.tsx
@@ -1023,7 +1023,8 @@ export function PositionRow({
   disabled?: boolean;
   /**
    * The viewer's response is still confirming. The pills stay at full strength — the side is drawn
-   * as taken — but presses are dropped, and the buttons say so to assistive technology.
+   * as taken — but presses are dropped, and the buttons say so to assistive technology and, on the
+   * pointer, with a wait cursor.
    */
   pending?: boolean;
   titleFor?: (position: boolean) => string;
@@ -1221,6 +1222,10 @@ function PositionButton({
       className={cx(
         className,
         'transition-colors disabled:opacity-60',
+        // The only sign the press was taken: the pill drops presses for the 10-50s a response
+        // spends confirming, and nothing else on the page says so. The copy that used to sit
+        // under the pills read as an unsettled side, so the cue stays on the pointer.
+        pending && 'cursor-progress',
         !selected && !disabled && !pending && 'hover:border-text'
       )}
     >
diff --git a/apps/web/core/debates/matchmaking/position-row.test.tsx b/apps/web/core/debates/matchmaking/position-row.test.tsx
index 9ea3bf1201..e769f2b41a 100644
--- a/apps/web/core/debates/matchmaking/position-row.test.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/core/debates/matchmaking/position-row.test.tsx
@@ -219,4 +219,40 @@ describe('PositionRow', () => {
       'bg-divider'
     );
   });
+
+  // A response confirms for 10-50s, and the pills drop presses for all of it. The wait cursor is
+  // the only thing left that says so on screen: the note that used to sit under the pills was
+  // taken out, because it read as a side not yet taken, and `aria-disabled` is heard rather than
+  // seen. Asserted so the next pass at quieting this row does not take the last cue with it.
+  describe('while a response is confirming', () => {
+    const pill = (label: string) => screen.getByText(label).closest('button') as HTMLElement;
+
+    it('puts a wait cursor on both pills', () => {
+      render(
+        <PositionRow positions={positions} responseKind="stance" viewerPosition={true} pending onRespond={() => {}} />
+      );
+
+      expect([...pill('Agree').classList]).toContain('cursor-progress');
+      expect([...pill('Disagree').classList]).toContain('cursor-progress');
+    });
+
+    it('leaves the pills looking taken, with no note under them', () => {
+      render(
+        <PositionRow positions={positions} responseKind="stance" viewerPosition={true} pending onRespond={() => {}} />
+      );
+
+      // The side still reads as held: full strength, and nothing announcing a wait. A pressable
+      // pill carries the fill on the button itself, not on an inner div as the read-only one does.
+      expect([...pill('Agree').classList]).toContain('bg-divider');
+      expect(screen.queryByText(/waiting for confirmation/i)).toBeNull();
+      // Dropped presses are still spoken, since a cursor is not.
+      expect(pill('Agree')).toHaveAttribute('aria-disabled', 'true');
+    });
+
+    it('drops the cursor once the response lands', () => {
+      render(<PositionRow positions={positions} responseKind="stance" viewerPosition={true} onRespond={() => {}} />);
+
+      expect([...pill('Agree').classList]).not.toContain('cursor-progress');
+    });
+  });
 });