Thesaurus results for GESTURE

gesture 1 of 2

noun

ˈjes-chər

Definition of gesture

as in sign

a movement of the body or limbs that expresses or emphasizes an idea or feeling a teenager who often shrugs her shoulders in a gesture of indifference

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in courtesy

an act or utterance that is a customary show of good manners sent a handwritten thank-you note as a gesture of his gratitude

Synonyms & Similar Words

gesture

2 of 2

verb

as in to motion

to direct or notify by a movement or gesture the police officer gestured me to the side of the road to tell me my headlight was out

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 gesture

Noun

What may have seemed a mere goodwill gesture reflected Reid’s keen judgment of Veach, the Chiefs’ general manager who has presided over five Super Bowl berths in the last seven seasons. — Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2026 Chris Matthews, with Blankies 4 My Buddies, said those seemingly small gestures can carry meaning. — Jamal Goss, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026

Verb

But Xi gestured to substantial concerns, noting AI first among priorities to discuss between the two nations. — Ana Ceballos, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026 Just a twenty‑page pamphlet by Guy Wyser‑Pratte, one of the earliest practitioners, which mostly gestured at concepts rather than showing how to apply them. — Alec Litowitz, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for gesture

Recent Examples of Synonyms for gesture

Noun

That’s a sign of how much the movie’s visual effects emanate directly from the imagination of the filmmaker.

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 27 Sep. 2026
The Full Moon in your sign puts your identity, desires, and personal direction under a bright light, making old compromises harder to maintain automatically.

— Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of sign

Noun

The imaging of these forming exoplanets (or extrasolar planets, worlds outside of our solar system), comes courtesy of the 66 radio antennas that comprise the Atacama Large Millimeter/ submillimeter Array (ALMA).

— Robert Lea, Space.com, 30 Sep. 2026
Johnson’s hair was styled by Mark Townsend with makeup courtesy of Georgie Eisdell.

— Julia Teti, Footwear News, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of courtesy

Verb

Audience jeers council’s I-77 decision Mayfield, who serves council at-large, motioned to keep Charlotte from changing its previous vote against the toll lanes.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 22 Sep. 2026
The 2022 ruling came after the defense motioned in 2020 to have Toshpuldzoda evaluated for mental health issues.

— Hudson Crozier, The Washington Examiner, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of motion

Noun

The power of prediction markets derives precisely from sucking our attention toward what’s speculable—incentivizing the networked crowd to separate signal from noise at scale.

— Simon Denny, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
This scattering of light and even electromagnetic radiation by particles that are smaller than the wavelength of the radiation opens up the possibility of signals reaching the receiver, even when the transmitter is not in line-of-sight.

— Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of signal

Verb

Many of the details emerged in a rush shortly after the passengers, most of them Israeli, landed back home to cheers and waving flags.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 2 Oct. 2026
Max Goldbart here taking you through a week in which one of the biggest entertainment deals of this century was waved through.

— Max Goldbart, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of wave

Noun

Resnikoff fully inhabits the role of Jaku, giving him a distinctive and consistent voice, posture and temperament.

— Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026
The panel’s order is not a final denial of the appeal, but does hint at the court’s posture towards the appeal.

— Austin Horn, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of posture

Noun

My daughter was enchanted by the Balinese rice-on-the-forehead ritual for good fortune that is a part of the arrival, and the front desk staff happily indulged her request to do it again—multiple times a day.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Oct. 2026
Launching Thursday exclusively at Bloomingdale’s, the collaboration sees Altuzarra bring its design sensibility beyond the wardrobe and into the beauty ritual, pairing NuFace’s Mini+ in Sandy Rose with a NuFace x Altuzarra bag, priced at $379.

— Kathryn Hopkins, Footwear News, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of ritual

Browse Nearby Words

gestural

gesture

gestured

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Gesture.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gesture. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of gesture

noun

verb

Example Sentences

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