as in waving
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 motioning
Anunoby was having another strong game Wednesday before appearing to suffer a leg injury and motioning to come out of the game.
—
ABC News, 8 May 2026
Anunoby was having another strong game Wednesday before appearing to suffer a leg injury and motioning to come out of the game.
—Cbs New York Team, CBS News, 7 May 2026
Meanwhile, Soler and López began trading words, with López seemingly motioning at Soler to do something.
—Johnny Flores Jr, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
With the game well out of reach and 10 seconds to play, Tre White dunked — despite Self motioning from the sideline to dribble it out.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 25 Jan. 2026
Good appears to be motioning to them with her hands.
—Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
Roberts joked, motioning for the entire auditorium at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles to stand for her.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Jan. 2026
Virgin-Morgan then was motioning toward officials, but nothing was called by the crew.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 22 Nov. 2025
Before motioning for the resolution to be adopted, District 14 Ald.
—April Quevedo, jsonline.com, 24 Oct. 2025
ABC News, 8 May 2026
Anunoby was having another strong game Wednesday before appearing to suffer a leg injury and motioning to come out of the game.
—Cbs New York Team, CBS News, 7 May 2026
Meanwhile, Soler and López began trading words, with López seemingly motioning at Soler to do something.
—Johnny Flores Jr, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
With the game well out of reach and 10 seconds to play, Tre White dunked — despite Self motioning from the sideline to dribble it out.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 25 Jan. 2026
Good appears to be motioning to them with her hands.
—Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
Roberts joked, motioning for the entire auditorium at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles to stand for her.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Jan. 2026
Virgin-Morgan then was motioning toward officials, but nothing was called by the crew.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 22 Nov. 2025
Before motioning for the resolution to be adopted, District 14 Ald.
—April Quevedo, jsonline.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for motioning
Verb
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Or maybe the big beach at Laguna after waving to The Greeter, with an hour during the late afternoon to browse the Pottery Shack with Mom.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
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Her mother, Tamara Reed-Holman — who qualified for state in four events for Decatur McArthur in 1990 and ran for Illinois State — was in the crowd at O’Brien Field in Charleston waving back.—
Jeff Vorva,
Chicago Tribune,
28 May 2026
Verb
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People who attend the trial will also be prohibited from reacting, gesturing, wearing distracting clothing or otherwise disrupting the proceedings.—
Steven Rosenbaum,
CBS News,
28 May 2026
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Many of today’s most prominent artists are focused on rendering vast, abstract, and often invisible systems perceptible—often by scaling them down to something more sensible while still gesturing toward their magnitude.—
Emily Watlington,
ARTnews.com,
24 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Motioning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motioning. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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