waggled

verb

past tense of waggle
as in flapped
to move from side to side or up and down with quick jerky motions the rabbit waggled its ears and hopped away

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of waggled Pebbles twitched, branches waggled, cholla wiggled, weeds erupted then dried up and died. — Alina Hartounian, NPR, 20 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waggled
  1. flapped
  2. flicked
  3. wagged
  4. twitched
  5. swung
  6. swished
  7. bobbed
  8. jerked
Verb
  • Above the dancers flapped a ring of American flags, each representing a military veteran from the community who had passed away.
    — Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Luna then tried to jump over Sandy to get back into the bowl of the nest, but Sandy lost her balance and flapped down to the lower branches.
    — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 16 July 2026
Definition of flapped
Verb
  • Marcus Caldeira flicked a header from about 35 yards out to Pereyra, who chipped in a first-touch finish from a couple steps inside the penalty box.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026
  • The toads had gone rogue, consuming native frogs, birds, insects, small marsupials, even Ping-Pong balls and cigarette butts flicked toward them at pubs—almost everything except the swarms of sugarcane beetles they had been imported to feed on.
    — Kimon de Greef, Longreads, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of flicked
Verb
  • After waiting for Odysseus to return, the dog wagged its tail and died.
    — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 18 July 2026
  • Vlašić wagged his tongue and ran toward his teammates with outstretched arms in celebration.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 27 June 2026
Definition of wagged
Verb
  • Many a club’s board would have twitched in the face of the bare data, but the chain of command above Arteta stayed the course, and the FOMO is so high that tickets for Palace away this weekend are going for £45,000 ($60,000) on resale sites.
    — Phil Hay, New York Times, 21 May 2026
  • My jaw twitched uncontrollably.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 May 2026
Definition of twitched
Verb
  • The inning should have been over after Bo Bichette swung on a bouncing pitch that went back to the backstop, but Washington catcher Keibert Ruiz threw the ball past first base, and Bichette was safe.
    — Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 15 Aug. 2026
  • But this game’s hinges swung the other way when the Padres turned things around against Gavin Williams and Michael King turned things around against the Guardians.
    — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of swung
Verb
  • Waiters swished past with little pots of lemon sorbet and glasses of Sprankel, a sparkling wine from Babylonstoren, Roos and Bekker’s farm and hotel in South Africa’s Franschhoek wine valley.
    — Mary Holland, Travel + Leisure, 18 July 2026
  • This was supposed to be magic, swished in from waaaaay downtown.
    — Candace Buckner, New York Times, 27 June 2026
Definition of swished
Verb
  • My Lady Clam bobbed in the water, which didn’t look so turbulent from where Kath sat.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2026
  • One afternoon as a rookie, listening to coaches drone on in a dark room with film cutups flashing in front of them, his head bobbed.
    — Alec Lewis, New York Times, 24 July 2026
Definition of bobbed
Verb
  • But in 1933, within a matter of days, they were jerked back into reality.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Once the squid gather near the surface, lines fitted with bait are lowered into the water and rapidly jerked up and down to imitate small prey such as shrimp, triggering strikes before the catch is reeled aboard.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 20 June 2026
Definition of jerked

Browse Nearby Words

waggle
waggled
waggles
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Waggled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waggled. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on waggled

Nglish: Translation of waggled for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of august

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All