as in bowing
bending downward or forward
some students, with nodding heads, were helplessly falling asleep during the boring lecture
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in bobbing
to make short up-and-down movements
though she couldn't see the rain, she knew it had started because she could see the flowers nod as raindrops hit them
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nodding
Aylin Woodward, WSJ, 21 Dec. 2021
Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Across the state, many different styles of pavement art are affected – not just rainbows, but also designs nodding to racial equality, police, and a university.
—Chris Boyette, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2025
Rodrigo Bentancur scored with these movements against Ipswich and Wolves, nodding home outswinging corners from the right.
—Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
Many of the top comments — both written and memed — are nodding to Curtis’ chest.
—Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 20 Aug. 2025
Each of the 219 rooms and suites balances a muted color palette with Fifth Avenue glam—marble and metallic accents gently punctuate the spaces, nodding to the hotel’s art deco history.
—Kenne Dibner, Travel + Leisure, 19 Aug. 2025
To mark her return to the big screen, Lohan, with the help of stylist Andrew Mukamal, has rocked look after look nodding to 2003's original Freaky Friday.
—Michelle Lee, People.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Back in Brussels, many were nodding in agreement.
—Peter Vanham, Fortune, 5 Aug. 2025
Everyone was nodding in agreement and taking notes.
—Garry Ridge, Time, 4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
James O’Donoghue, a planetary scientist with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, likened our planet’s tilting phenomenon to a nodding head.
—Aylin Woodward, WSJ, 21 Dec. 2021
Verb
Once vocal team members become passive observers, nodding along without adding meaningful input.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Across the state, many different styles of pavement art are affected – not just rainbows, but also designs nodding to racial equality, police, and a university.
—Chris Boyette, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2025
Rodrigo Bentancur scored with these movements against Ipswich and Wolves, nodding home outswinging corners from the right.
—Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
Many of the top comments — both written and memed — are nodding to Curtis’ chest.
—Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 20 Aug. 2025
Each of the 219 rooms and suites balances a muted color palette with Fifth Avenue glam—marble and metallic accents gently punctuate the spaces, nodding to the hotel’s art deco history.
—Kenne Dibner, Travel + Leisure, 19 Aug. 2025
To mark her return to the big screen, Lohan, with the help of stylist Andrew Mukamal, has rocked look after look nodding to 2003's original Freaky Friday.
—Michelle Lee, People.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Back in Brussels, many were nodding in agreement.
—Peter Vanham, Fortune, 5 Aug. 2025
Everyone was nodding in agreement and taking notes.
—Garry Ridge, Time, 4 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nodding
Verb
-
There was an apple-bobbing contest during the third.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
29 Aug. 2025
-
These ten red clay courts nestled in Riverside Park are fairly idyllic with unusually handsome plantings, friendly volunteers, and sailboats bobbing on the water nearby.—
David Shaftel,
Curbed,
26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
No racist stereotypes, no demeaning facial expressions, no bowed heads, and no broken bodies from the old Hollywood.—
David Faris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 July 2025
-
The composer also added synths to his orchestral score, as well as bowed metal, where a violin bow is rubbed against metal instruments like a cowbell or a Vibraphone, for when Roz has a particularly intense feeling.—
Mia Galuppo,
The Hollywood Reporter,
6 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Weak to light shaking was detected, and people in multiple cities - such as Huntington Beach, Winchester, Menifee and Sun City - reported feeling the tremor, according to the USGS DYFI report.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Homes of political party members and state buildings were ransacked or set ablaze, shaking investor confidence in the Southeast Asian economy and triggering a steep selloff on its stocks and currency markets on Friday.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
1 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.—
David Mamet,
National Review,
11 Aug. 2022
-
The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.—
Helen Shaw,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2021
Verb
-
In place of the pumping house music typical of Venice red carpets, a somber ambient score accompanied the arrival, as festival chief Alberto Barbera walked arm in arm with Ben Hania into the Sala Grande Cinema.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2025
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Along with fist-pumping volume, the PartyBox 720 is the largest JBL party speaker that can run off battery power.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nodding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nodding. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
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