as in undulant
rising and falling in a wavelike pattern
The undulating terrain was difficult to traverse on foot.
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as in fluctuating
formal
to move or be shaped like waves
undulating hills an undulating surface
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of undulating
Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 1 May 2026
By the ‘80s, the garden was gone, replaced by a pavilion by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer — a postmodern Mesopotamian gate with glass blocks and undulating turquoise handrails.
—Bloomberg, 24 Apr. 2026
To the left is a relaxed deck for post-dip chilling; to the right is the beautifully restrained restaurant, partly enclosed in a glasshouse with an undulating canopy roof.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Apr. 2026
The Tree House Suites’ undulating design resembles the seedpod of the purple millettia, a common Southeast Asian flowering plant.
—Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 15 Apr. 2026
Toyo Ito’s 2006 Meiso no Mori Funeral Hall in Gifu, Japan, shelters mourners beneath an undulating thin-concrete canopy like a billowing shroud.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 14 Apr. 2026
Two distinct styles collide on a pair of intergenerational live recordings pitting the Buchla pioneer’s undulating sequences against the lo-fi techno producer’s scuffed textures.
—Andrew Ryce, Pitchfork, 9 Apr. 2026
The artist created these tabletop works by slicing disks of walnut into identically sized strips and reassembling the pieces to form undulating fans.
—Katherine Rochester, Artforum, 1 Apr. 2026
The product is made with silk jacquard, and with smooth cotton sateen on the reverse side; the jacquard is woven in a pattern reminiscent of the ocean’s undulating waves.
—Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 31 Mar. 2026
Verb
SeaWorld’s sister park in Orlando, Florida, already hosts a nighttime drone show that features undulating manta rays, paddling sea turtles and hovering octopuses.
—Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 1 May 2026
By the ‘80s, the garden was gone, replaced by a pavilion by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer — a postmodern Mesopotamian gate with glass blocks and undulating turquoise handrails.
—Bloomberg, 24 Apr. 2026
To the left is a relaxed deck for post-dip chilling; to the right is the beautifully restrained restaurant, partly enclosed in a glasshouse with an undulating canopy roof.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Apr. 2026
The Tree House Suites’ undulating design resembles the seedpod of the purple millettia, a common Southeast Asian flowering plant.
—Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 15 Apr. 2026
Toyo Ito’s 2006 Meiso no Mori Funeral Hall in Gifu, Japan, shelters mourners beneath an undulating thin-concrete canopy like a billowing shroud.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 14 Apr. 2026
Two distinct styles collide on a pair of intergenerational live recordings pitting the Buchla pioneer’s undulating sequences against the lo-fi techno producer’s scuffed textures.
—Andrew Ryce, Pitchfork, 9 Apr. 2026
The artist created these tabletop works by slicing disks of walnut into identically sized strips and reassembling the pieces to form undulating fans.
—Katherine Rochester, Artforum, 1 Apr. 2026
The product is made with silk jacquard, and with smooth cotton sateen on the reverse side; the jacquard is woven in a pattern reminiscent of the ocean’s undulating waves.
—Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 31 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for undulating
Adjective
-
Our drills included hours of seamlessly merging poetry with three chords, providing me with an undulant field to riff on.—
Patti Smith,
New Yorker,
1 Nov. 2025
-
As the undulant hills beyond the valley turned blue in front of me, a cat sauntered onto the veranda and wound its tail around my ankles.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Picking the right airline can be difficult, especially when there are so many choices to consider, and prices are constantly fluctuating.—
Jamie Spain,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Conditions such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia and severe anxiety disorders frequently involve fluctuating symptoms.—
Jeffrey Freedman,
Sun Sentinel,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
One of these experiment models, ABRACADABRA, employs high-sensitivity radio to capture the faint hum of axion’s oscillating magnetic fields thanks to the close cooperation of UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.—
Chase Hunter,
Mercury News,
19 Apr. 2026
-
Sometimes, men were overwhelmed, and many opened up to the possibility of feminism, doubled down, then opened up again, oscillating wildly between solidarity and oppression.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The blade was at least ten inches long and double-edged, honed on one side with a wavy scalloped finish, the other a jagged toothing like a lumberjack’s saw.—
Chang-rae Lee,
New Yorker,
3 May 2026
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Bernard lives next to the project site and has documented multiple desert tortoises on and around her property — including Squiggles, who was given the nickname for leaving wavy tracks in the sand.—
Alex Wigglesworth,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Kick your legs in small up-and-down fluttering motions while keeping your lower back flat and abs tight throughout.—
Jakob Roze,
Health,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Video from the scene hours after the fire first erupted showed ash fluttering through the air and burned paper in the yards of homes across the street from the warehouse.—
Joy Benedict,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Instead, scandals have provided rolling revelations of a general unseriousness.—
Benjamin Wallace-Wells,
New Yorker,
26 Apr. 2026
-
On Thursday, Putin broke his silence on the rolling digital blackouts, which hit the country’s capital in early March.—
Nathan Hodge,
CNN Money,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
An official with knowledge of the situation told Northern News Now that an officer responded to reports of a man walking on a sidewalk and waving a gun.—
Eric Henderson,
CBS News,
1 May 2026
-
Kevin Durant waving bye to Deandre Ayton after he was ejected from the game.—
Dan Woike,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
And the uneven availability cost him a chance to fully adjust to his new role within the organization.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Heavy rain can wash away grass seed and cause uneven growth or bare spots in your lawn.—
Lee Wallender,
The Spruce,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Undulating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/undulating. Accessed 4 May. 2026.
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