waving 1 of 2

noun

as in flapping

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waving

2 of 2

verb

present participle of wave
as in motioning
to direct or notify by a movement or gesture waved them over to the side of the road

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 waving
Noun
Similarly, the World Cup is a global phenomenon in which the waving of national colors reaches fever pitch. — Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 July 2026 Egypt has arrested and prosecuted gays and lesbians on the basis of vague indecency laws and has cracked down on any outward expressions of Pride, especially the waving of rainbow flags. — Andrew Destin, Chicago Tribune, 17 June 2026 With his own future still unconfirmed, Guardiola could be seen pumping his fists in celebration when Rayan Cherki slipped in the third goal and, after the final whistle, there was a victory walk around the pitch and a lot of affectionate waving and kiss-blowing. — Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 14 May 2026 It also has been roiled by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, stirring protests outside the venues and forcing organizers to clamp down on political flag-waving. — ABC News, 23 Apr. 2026 The flag-waving, the face paint, the pugnacious songs, the banners, the bellicose taunts at the opponents, the arms flung out in unison foster a collective spirit that can turn violent at times. — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026 Flag waving, immigration restriction, and culture-war rallying cries can shore up the MAGA-tech coalition, but more will be needed to achieve lasting success. — Walter Russell Mead, The Atlantic, 24 Jan. 2026 Assuming whatever creature birthed from a spider egg was also a shapeshifter would even allow the show to bring back everyone’s favorite dancing clown in a modern-day context without too much hand-waving. — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 15 Dec. 2025 Some 65,000 fans reveling in SDFC’s six goals scored and vibing off the supporter groups’ chants, drum-banging and flag-waving. — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Nov. 2025
Verb
Columbia is not just an enclave but a neighborhood within a neighborhood, a 36-acre concentration of urban activity — activity that has always included regular doses of protest, speechifying, electioneering, and petition waving. — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 19 Aug. 2026 Behind the scenes, White House officials have spent months waving Kennedy off his vaccine agenda amid a historic wave of measles infections. — Amanda Seitz, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026 What, one wonders, is the appropriate response to someone who bursts into the room waving $197 million of other people’s money and declares job one is making sure your flying car has a place to land? — Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 14 Aug. 2026 Mops of ghostly streamers, some of them longer than my arm, were waving like tentacles atop layers of black muck. — James Dinneen, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2026 Just days before the fireworks and the flag waving of July 4, Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) quietly asked Maryland regulators for permission to take more money out of its customers’ pockets. — Tyrone E. Keys Jr, Baltimore Sun, 12 Aug. 2026 Syrians gathered around the court in Damascus, chanting, clapping and waving the Syrian flag as news of the sentences spread. — Kinda Makieh, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2026 Kailey Erhart, 22, stabbed her 5-month-old and 3-year-old children to death on Thursday after waving a gun at her estranged husband and threatening to kill herself, according to police. — Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 10 Aug. 2026 And ever since, he’s been waving the 30-film number around like a magic wand that will save the movie business. — Todd Spangler, Variety, 9 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waving
  1. flapping
  2. motioning
  3. flailing
  4. gesturing
Noun
  • Symmetrical wing flapping generates forward thrust, while differential wing motion provides steering for smooth, quiet indoor flight.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 13 July 2026
  • In recent days, viewers were treated to the younger eagles practicing their wing flapping and preparing to make their first official flights.
    — Kris Wernowsky, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2026
Definition of flapping
Verb
  • Hamrick said to his companion, motioning to a spot short of the summit.
    — John Blake, CNN Money, 19 July 2026
  • In security footage obtained by ABC 13, the officer, alleged to be Carrico, is seen motioning the woman to take a seat; the woman complies.
    — Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026
Definition of motioning
Noun
  • Unai Emery’s penchant for rehabilitating flailing, once prodigious talents now extends to Alejandro Garnacho.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 30 July 2026
  • This is not the approach of a president who’s running a war; this is the flailing of a man who’s in over his head and is reacting to events, rather than guiding them.
    — Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
Definition of flailing
Verb
  • Lavie appeared in a jailhouse-yellow shirt and blue pants and looked distressed throughout the hearing, nodding and gesturing to friends at times.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The novel also alludes to contemporary examples of violence in the country’s current, democratic system, gesturing to the ways in which brutality persists in Brazil as state and corporate power continue to commit violence with near impunity.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 July 2026
Definition of gesturing

Browse Nearby Words

waves (aside or off)
waving
waving (aside or off)
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Cite this Entry

“Waving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waving. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on waving

Nglish: Translation of waving for Spanish Speakers

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