wags 1 of 3

noun (1)

plural of wag
as in flaps
a quick jerky movement from side to side or up and down the dog gave its tail a single wag before it flopped back down

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

wags

2 of 3

noun (2)

plural of wag
as in comedians
a person (as a writer) noted for or specializing in humor some wag wrote a droll satire on the scandal for the newspaper

Synonyms & Similar Words

wags

3 of 3

verb

present tense third-person singular of wag
1
as in waggles
to move from side to side or up and down with quick jerky motions the cat's tail wagged back and forth in annoyance

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in gossips
to relate sometimes questionable or secret information of a personal nature tongues will wag as soon as word of the house's selling price gets around

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in bobs
to make short up-and-down movements the bird's head wagged jerkily as it looked for worms

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 wags
Noun
Moreover, if Griffin stepped into public life now, the cynical wags in finance would declare the reason obvious—his hedge fund’s returns have been sagging. — Gary Sernovitz, New Yorker, 15 June 2026 Many critics, political pundits, and wags asked, somewhat rhetorically, whether anyone in the administration recalls how handing the responsibility of nuclear weaponry over to machines turned out in the Terminator movies. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 2 Mar. 2026 One hums with high-speed drills and anxiety; the other echoes with joyful barks and tail wags. — Henry I. Miller, STAT, 28 Jan. 2026 That has, at least, spawned a rich stream of social media content, with wags across the world editing iconic cricket clips with the commentary coming before them. — Nick Miller, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026 Once returned to their moms, Lizzie and Bambie were all wags. — Nicole Villalpando, Austin American Statesman, 23 Dec. 2025 When Cody the golden retriever was introduced to his new sibling, his owner probably would have hoped for some happy tail wags and some curious sniffs to show his curiosity. — Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025 Less bending for pets + slower eating habits = better digestion and more tail wags. — Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 27 Aug. 2025
Verb
Duff puts her hand over her mouth and then wags her finger back and forth. — Chiara Kim, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026 Yet the gas tail still wags the dog. — David Frykman, Fortune, 25 Mar. 2026 When a dog repeatedly wags and whips its tail against hard surfaces, the tip can split open, bruise or break. — Miriam Fauzia, Dallas Morning News, 21 Jan. 2026 In a lot of ways, Phil is the tail that wags the dog. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 31 Oct. 2025 As Gino wags his finger at his estranged wife, Natalie begins to approach Jasmine. — Abigail Adams, People.com, 8 Aug. 2025 Learn why the world wags and what wags it. — Literary Hub, 13 June 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wags
  1. flicks
  2. comedians
  3. flaps
  4. gossips
  5. bobs
  6. waggles
  7. wits
  8. twitches
Noun
  • Inspired in equal parts by Italian giallo horror flicks and American slasher flicks, the behind-the-scenes psychodrama stars Cotillard as a deathly ill scream queen shooting a sci-fi art film in Rome in 1982 who starts to go out of her mind.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Williamson also shared various flicks and clips from her birthday weekend on social media.
    — Amaris Encinas, USA Today, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of flicks
Noun
  • The phone-comedy discussion followed a scene in which Julie Kessler and Billy Epstein, the proudly embittered struggling comedians played by Klausner and Eichner, confront an up-and-coming digital creator.
    — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Cook would go on to become one of the most popular comedians of the early 2000s, while McCauley took on a job as a corrections officer and would later handle his brother’s finances directly.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of comedians
Verb
  • If your dispenser has a latch that flaps open, make sure there is nothing blocking the flap to keep the pod from releasing and dissolving.
    — Natalia Gonzalez Blanco Serrano, The Spruce, 1 Aug. 2026
  • The robot flaps five to six times a second to maintain flight.
    — Ari Daniel, NPR, 9 July 2026
Definition of flaps
Verb
  • Mary McCarthy gossips more frankly about people Robert Lowell mentions.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 July 2026
Definition of gossips
Verb
  • Multiple saunas and cold plunge pools sit alongside hot pools right on deck, and the whole thing bobs gently while the harbor traffic goes by, which somehow makes the ritual feel more honest than any five-star spa could.
    — Winston Ross, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
  • From a fringed mullet, to a blonde buzz cut, bobs in various lengths, micro bangs, and even a shade of citrus—Kristen Stewart’s looks are always executed with an edge.
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 24 July 2026
Definition of bobs
Noun
  • Pre-shot routines such as Patrick Cantlay’s foot-shuffling and Brian Harman’s waggles have driven golf fans up a wall.
    — Gabby Herzig, New York Times, 20 July 2026
Definition of waggles
Noun
  • Homer’s Odysseus survives on his wits as much as force of arms.
    — Tom Tapp, Deadline, 27 July 2026
  • As always, when using modern-era AI, keep your eyes open and your wits about you.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
Definition of wits
Verb
  • Persistent muscle twitches Everyone’s muscles twitch from time to time, usually at various locations.
    — Angela Haupt, Time, 15 Jan. 2026
  • Some devices, for example, track eye movements or other small muscle twitches to let users select words from a screen.
    — Emma R. Hasson, Scientific American, 14 Aug. 2025
Definition of twitches

Browse Nearby Words

wagons
wags
wahoo
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wags.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wags. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on wags

Nglish: Translation of wags 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 tilde

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

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

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

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

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek
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