fluttering

noun

flut·​ter·​ing ˈflə-tər-iŋ 

plural flutterings

: a quick wavering or flapping movement or sensation

felt a fluttering in his stomach

That's about as small as the perturbation of air produced by the fluttering of a butterfly's wings …

—Gary Taubes

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Designed by the celebrated Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer in the 1950s, the Supreme Court, for instance, features columns of concrete clad in white marble that echo the fluttering of a sheet in the wind. —André Spigariol, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2023

In strong winds, occupants have reported water sloshing in toilet bowls, chandeliers swaying, and panes of glass fluttering. —Bianca Bosker, The Atlantic, 17 Dec. 2022

But from the fluttering of its aluminum hood on the highway to its lack of a heated steering wheel and rear climate-control vents, the WRX quickly reminds you of its economy-car roots. —Mike Sutton, Car and Driver, 1 Nov. 2022

Another mourner laid her cheek on a coffin, stroking the polished wood with her hand amid a hush so profound that the faint fluttering of the flags could be heard. —Fredrick Kunkle, Washington Post, 9 June 2022

Then the tempo slowed once more and the fluttering began to sound like chattering. —BostonGlobe.com, 8 Nov. 2021

Doctors opposed to the bills dispute that description, saying the fluttering that is detected cannot exist outside the womb. —Compiled Democrat-gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 2 Sep. 2021

The heart complications are more likely to occur in boys and young men, the analysis found, and the most common symptoms are chest pain, shortness of breath, and the sensation of having a rapid heartbeat, a fluttering, or pounding heart. —Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press, 2 July 2021

These butterflies require a 12-foot swath of fresh corduroy for their fluttering. —Sundog, Outside Online, 3 Apr. 2021

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Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above