1
as in signs
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
2
as in courtesies
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
as in motions
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 gestures
Kenneth Turan, The Atlantic, 7 Jan. 2026
By integrating vision, audio, and language, IntEngine enables Nylo to coordinate speech, facial expressions, and gestures in real time.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 6 Jan. 2026
These are the most casual of gestures, not comparable to relatives hurting a child.
—Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026
These superficial gestures amount to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
—Washington Post, 5 Jan. 2026
Manuel Noriega gestures while giving speech in Panama City in March 1988 file photo.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026
Iran protests over collapsing economy spread to universities Iranian authorities offered conciliatory gestures in a bid to stem growing protests over the country’s collapsing economy.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 2 Jan. 2026
While a regular trackpad responds only to simple taps, the Trackpad Pro detects different levels of force, recognizes gestures, and delivers a consistent zero-latency response across its entire surface.
—Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 4 Nov. 2025
And there's always Google Translate and hand gestures to get you through.
—Christopher Elliott, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025
Noun
These touching gestures reminded me that books were restorative, bringers of joy as well as knowledge.
—Kenneth Turan, The Atlantic, 7 Jan. 2026
By integrating vision, audio, and language, IntEngine enables Nylo to coordinate speech, facial expressions, and gestures in real time.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 6 Jan. 2026
These are the most casual of gestures, not comparable to relatives hurting a child.
—Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026
These superficial gestures amount to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
—Washington Post, 5 Jan. 2026
Manuel Noriega gestures while giving speech in Panama City in March 1988 file photo.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026
Iran protests over collapsing economy spread to universities Iranian authorities offered conciliatory gestures in a bid to stem growing protests over the country’s collapsing economy.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 2 Jan. 2026
While a regular trackpad responds only to simple taps, the Trackpad Pro detects different levels of force, recognizes gestures, and delivers a consistent zero-latency response across its entire surface.
—Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 4 Nov. 2025
And there's always Google Translate and hand gestures to get you through.
—Christopher Elliott, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gestures
Noun
-
Trade discussions dominated those meetings, but there were signs of growing tensions over Beijing’s surging conventional and nuclear arsenal.—
Tamara Qiblawi,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Thanks to their thoughtful preservation efforts, signs of the past remain.—
Mel Studach,
Architectural Digest,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Leonora measures out her days in courtesies and slights, the former dominating the beginning of the book, the latter rapidly gaining ground.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
There was a rush of gesticulations, with Greenberg speaking in English.—
Robert Sullivan,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In Los Angeles, Justin Bieber takes the court for some basketball, a pregnant Cardi B waves her arms and Glen Powell and Peyton Manning are all smiles at the Chad Powers premiere.—
Brendan Le,
PEOPLE,
26 Sep. 2025
-
After the Hunt star Andrew Garfield waves to attendees of the red carpet premiere of the film in Venice on Friday.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
And that’s also a place where those familiar postures — the brooding cowboy, the angsty writer — start to dissolve.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Sachs films the pair in a variety of places and postures—sitting face to face in her living room, standing in the kitchen, lying down on her bed.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The test, known as Galleri, picked up cancer signals in 216 people, and 133 of them were found to actually have cancer.—
Janet Loehrke,
USA Today,
9 Nov. 2025
-
Experts believe the Russian satellites that got close to the two IntelSat satellites used in part by Germany were there to intercept signals.—
Lauren Kent,
CNN Money,
9 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gestures.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gestures. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share