as in waved
to direct or notify by a movement or gesture
the referee motioned the team captains to confer with him on the sideline
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of motioned
The man calmly motioned to the back of his station wagon.
—
Jim Clash, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
From his Mercedes Benz, parked nearby, Martin spotted Davis and motioned him over, Davis wrote in his book.
—Gina Barton, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2025
That appeared to be a distraction at times to Anisimova, who motioned to her team in the stands that something was bothering her during ball tosses for serves.
—Howard Fendrich, Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2025
Prescott quickly motioned to a nearby official, who threw the flag and sent Carter packing.
—Dan Gelston, Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025
The pitch clock was winding down on Valdez, and Salazar motioned with his hands for Valdez to step off the mound and use a timeout.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 3 Sep. 2025
After the complaint was filed, a department named in the filing — the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office — motioned for Hartig to recuse herself from its cases.
—Darcie Moran, Freep.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Firing the thrusters in reverse wouldn’t extricate it, so Khatib took control of the arms, motioned for the bot to perform a sort of pushup, and OceanOne was free.
—Evan Ackerman, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Apr. 2016
Jim Clash, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
From his Mercedes Benz, parked nearby, Martin spotted Davis and motioned him over, Davis wrote in his book.
—Gina Barton, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2025
That appeared to be a distraction at times to Anisimova, who motioned to her team in the stands that something was bothering her during ball tosses for serves.
—Howard Fendrich, Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2025
Prescott quickly motioned to a nearby official, who threw the flag and sent Carter packing.
—Dan Gelston, Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025
The pitch clock was winding down on Valdez, and Salazar motioned with his hands for Valdez to step off the mound and use a timeout.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 3 Sep. 2025
After the complaint was filed, a department named in the filing — the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office — motioned for Hartig to recuse herself from its cases.
—Darcie Moran, Freep.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Firing the thrusters in reverse wouldn’t extricate it, so Khatib took control of the arms, motioned for the bot to perform a sort of pushup, and OceanOne was free.
—Evan Ackerman, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Apr. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for motioned
Verb
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Against Miami Central, McCarthy waved to his coaches to call a timeout.—
Alec Lewis,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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Johnson was flagged for a neutral zone violation, however, and the TD was waved off.—
Kirk Kenney,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The direct result was another throw hurled into their box with Emiliano Martinez attempting to claim the high ball — something Emery had gestured for earlier in the half.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
25 Aug. 2025
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For example, humpbacks gestured with their pectoral fins toward dolphins on 172 occasions.—
Brendan Rascius,
Miami Herald,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Motioned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motioned. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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