gesticulate

Definition of gesticulatenext
as in to gesture
to move your arms and hands especially when speaking in an angry or emotional way He was gesticulating wildly during his speech.

Related 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 gesticulate Imagery was multiplied to tell a story—the stentorian Mussolini, with his upraised chin and bald head, delivering a speech, or Hitler, with his toothbrush mustache, gesticulating. — Literary Hub, 27 Apr. 2026 Video footage of the incident obtained by KQED appears to show the women gesticulating and shouting at the correctional staff before the officers form a line and deploy pepper spray and mace grenades at the group. — William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 24 Apr. 2026 And, besides, he could be seen bear-hugging his players, as well as those of Newcastle, within moments of being led away from Barrott, twice turning back to shout and angrily gesticulate in the referee’s direction. — Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2026 In preschool, he was given a wordless role as Farmer McGregor in a school production of Peter Rabbit and began hamming it up, counting the missing tomatoes and gesticulating at his nemesis rabbit. — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for gesticulate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gesticulate
Verb
  • While discussing the weapons, White allegedly gestured toward her torso and asked whether the guns could penetrate an agentâs body armor.
    — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026
  • This is a subject far older than this Lean-In-era epiphany, yet New Stanford stops short at gesturing faintly in the direction of conversations that could theoretically be had.
    — Judy Berman, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • So much so that, in Wild Horse Nine, Chris and Lee both stay there, picking fights with unsuspecting tourists and waving their guns around in the rooms.
    — Lale Arikoglu, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Naylor also acknowledged that pitchers ultimately have the final say as to what pitch gets thrown because pitchers can wave off the catcher's call in favor of a different pitch.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2026
Verb
  • But as The Fork and Knife unfolds, these nods to past output begin to make sense as Skepta starts to join the dots of a varied and storied career.
    — Will Pritchard, Pitchfork, 9 Nov. 2026
  • As for obstacles, experts nodded to persistent bottlenecks in shelter beds reserved for domestic violence survivors and legal support options, financial limitations, especially as pandemic-era federal funding dries up, and widespread access to guns.
    — Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 8 Nov. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Gesticulate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gesticulate. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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