as in waving
to put into view in a threatening or excited manner
She brandished a stick at the dog. brandished a petition signed by hundreds of town residents
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Recent Examples of brandishing
Atlanta police on Tuesday shot a man who approached an officer while brandishing a knife on a Buckhead road, officials said.
—
Vanessa McCray, AJC.com, 25 Feb. 2026
Multiple videos of the altercation did not show Pretti ever brandishing or reaching for the weapon.
—Andy Rose, CNN Money, 11 Feb. 2026
The teen was arrested on suspicion of crimes including assaulting a person with a semi-automatic firearm, brandishing a firearm, negligently discharging a firearm, evading a peace officer and driving under the influence of alcohol, the sheriff’s office said.
—Jason Green, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
The footage, released by the NYPD on Tuesday, shows an officer entering the living room of the home, where Chakraborty was allegedly brandishing a knife.
—Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Police released alarming photos of suspects brandishing weapons after a woman in her 30s was fatally shot inside a White Settlement home on Friday afternoon.
—Doug Myers, CBS News, 31 Jan. 2026
Many other videos show MAGA people coming to protests brandishing firearms.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 31 Jan. 2026
And so the players showed up brandishing hope for this summer while sweetly admitting the emotion that still lingers from last fall.
—Los Angeles Times, 31 Jan. 2026
There has been no evidence that NPR has verified of Pretti brandishing his handgun at any time during the encounter with federal agents.
—Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 27 Jan. 2026
Vanessa McCray, AJC.com, 25 Feb. 2026
Multiple videos of the altercation did not show Pretti ever brandishing or reaching for the weapon.
—Andy Rose, CNN Money, 11 Feb. 2026
The teen was arrested on suspicion of crimes including assaulting a person with a semi-automatic firearm, brandishing a firearm, negligently discharging a firearm, evading a peace officer and driving under the influence of alcohol, the sheriff’s office said.
—Jason Green, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
The footage, released by the NYPD on Tuesday, shows an officer entering the living room of the home, where Chakraborty was allegedly brandishing a knife.
—Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Police released alarming photos of suspects brandishing weapons after a woman in her 30s was fatally shot inside a White Settlement home on Friday afternoon.
—Doug Myers, CBS News, 31 Jan. 2026
Many other videos show MAGA people coming to protests brandishing firearms.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 31 Jan. 2026
And so the players showed up brandishing hope for this summer while sweetly admitting the emotion that still lingers from last fall.
—Los Angeles Times, 31 Jan. 2026
There has been no evidence that NPR has verified of Pretti brandishing his handgun at any time during the encounter with federal agents.
—Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 27 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brandishing
Verb
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When—and why—laughter works In the study, Sezer and her colleagues ran six experiments involving more than 3,000 participants who read about other people’s embarrassing mishaps, like dramatically knocking over a glass in a restaurant or enthusiastically waving at the wrong person.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
27 Feb. 2026
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The victory was patriotic, not only in flag wearing and flag waving, but in words as well.—
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The group is required to move quickly following a leader’s death and meets behind closed doors to deliberate among qualified senior clerics before announcing a decision.—
Claire Carter,
The Washington Examiner,
1 Mar. 2026
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Lopez died in January 2026, with his mother, Connie Howard, announcing on social media that her son died days earlier.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Brandishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brandishing. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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