1
as in flapping
to move from side to side or up and down with quick jerky motions
the cat's tail wagged back and forth in annoyance
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in gossiping
to relate sometimes questionable or secret information of a personal nature
tongues will wag as soon as word of the house's selling price gets around
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in bobbing
to make short up-and-down movements
the bird's head wagged jerkily as it looked for worms
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wagging
Her tail kept wagging in anticipation while her owner apologized.
—
Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
Of course, with all the tail- and tongue-wagging joy our little friends get from tagging along comes some risk.
—Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 2 Sep. 2025
If it’s held naturally and gently wagging side to side, the dog is probably relaxed and happy.
—Dawn Kovell, Mercury News, 19 Aug. 2025
That was until Mo Mahmoud sped past me in his Hellcat on I-94, wagging his tongue.
—Liam Rappleye, Freep.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Dogs often show their happiness by wagging their tails, but one owner has learned those joyful wags can get canines into a bit of a predicament.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 23 Dec. 2024
These loyal companions love their humans unconditionally, greeting them at the door with a wagging tail or curling up at the foot of the bed, purring gently.
—Funnyfuzzy Contributor, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
From the title on, Babygirl feels designed to get tongues wagging rather than lolling.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Dec. 2024
Tails were wagging and paws were prancing at the Benton Franklin Humane Society as dogs experienced a special kind of Christmas magic - choosing their own favorite gifts!
—Ronnie Li, USA TODAY, 19 Dec. 2024
Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
Of course, with all the tail- and tongue-wagging joy our little friends get from tagging along comes some risk.
—Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 2 Sep. 2025
If it’s held naturally and gently wagging side to side, the dog is probably relaxed and happy.
—Dawn Kovell, Mercury News, 19 Aug. 2025
That was until Mo Mahmoud sped past me in his Hellcat on I-94, wagging his tongue.
—Liam Rappleye, Freep.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Dogs often show their happiness by wagging their tails, but one owner has learned those joyful wags can get canines into a bit of a predicament.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 23 Dec. 2024
These loyal companions love their humans unconditionally, greeting them at the door with a wagging tail or curling up at the foot of the bed, purring gently.
—Funnyfuzzy Contributor, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
From the title on, Babygirl feels designed to get tongues wagging rather than lolling.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Dec. 2024
Tails were wagging and paws were prancing at the Benton Franklin Humane Society as dogs experienced a special kind of Christmas magic - choosing their own favorite gifts!
—Ronnie Li, USA TODAY, 19 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wagging
Verb
-
Birds can soar through the sky for long periods without flapping their wings.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Well, the 23-year-old Belgian was among Europe’s best shot-stopping goalkeepers last season, is quick off his line and appears to be pretty composed, which would be ideal around his two flapping new goalkeeper team mates.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Nancy and Minh are there too, but primarily to set up Peggy’s consternation that her neighbors, along with the rest of Rainey Street, have become a bunch of phone addicts hiding behind their Ring cams and gossiping on the Neighbors app instead of interacting face to face.—
Genevieve Koski,
Vulture,
5 Aug. 2025
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
Verb
-
While you guys had staff inside laughing, pointing and even flicking off the crowd outside.—
Megan Cartwright,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Most of the clientele were families of Asian tourists, talking neither to us nor among themselves.—
Joe Joyce,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Then a production assistant — a famously low-paying, entry-level job on film and TV sets — McGuirk happened to be near the camera operator, who was talking on the phone, when a colleague radioed to ask him to attend a rehearsal.—
Katie Kilkenny,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Sep. 2025
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
-
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
Verb
-
Koberidze opens with a montage of cats, foot traffic, street dogs twitching in their sleep, statues and trees casting long shadows across buildings.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
17 Aug. 2025
-
Prater, who was expecting gory details, is a little harder to read, though his face twitching doesn’t seem like a great sign.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
15 Aug. 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
Cite this Entry
“Wagging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wagging. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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