as in flapped
to move from side to side or up and down with quick jerky motions
the rabbit waggled its ears and hopped away
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waggled
Verb
-
But Chelsea — and Garnacho — responded again, the Argentina international reducing the arrears again after some Kepa had flapped at a cross.—
Simon Johnson,
New York Times,
14 Jan. 2026 -
A little way down the bank, a hoatzin flapped awkwardly in dense foliage.—
Stanley Stewart,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The sixth-tier side doubled their advantage shortly after the hour mark as a deflected effort fell into the path of Buckley-Ricketts, who adjusted his body and flicked past goalkeeper Walter Benitez.—
Ali Rampling,
New York Times,
10 Jan. 2026
-
The suspect poured gasoline on the girls as well as both officers, flicked a lighter and set the room ablaze.—
Angie DiMichele,
Sun Sentinel,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Major League Baseball wagged a finger with one hand and palmed gate receipts and a new TV deal in the other.—
Jeremy Collins,
The Atlantic,
12 Dec. 2025
-
The once-weak puppy woke up with new energy—and even wagged her tail for the first time.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The bonito’s body twitched until Yamasaki slid a thin metal wire down the column of its spinal cord, a second step called shinkei jime, which arrests its nervous system.—
Hannah Goldfield,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
-
Their usefulness remains an open question At the back of a conference hall at the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas, a humanoid robot twitched through a preprogrammed wave for a crowd of cell phone cameras—a classic scene of high spectacle and unclear utility at CES.—
Eric Sullivan,
Scientific American,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Minnesota swung that deal for Dillingham as a creative way to get around the team-building restrictions of the aprons.—
Bryan Toporek,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
As shippers frontloaded their goods to get ahead of import taxes, cargo volumes swung high and low.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Allen swished a 3 with two seconds to spare.—
Doug Haller,
New York Times,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Jamar Brown swished a 3-pointer from the corner and scored a layup off an inbound pass.—
Aaron Heisen,
Daily News,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Tyla’s glam included bobbed hair and cornrows with bold makeup, featuring smokey eyes.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Gaines, Sneako, Fuentes and Clavicular all sang along to the song, while Tristan Tate bobbed to the rhythm and Andrew was out of frame.—
Joseph Strauss,
Sun Sentinel,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Aisha jerked and opened her eyes.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Jan. 2026
-
The two stood nose-to-nose on the field when the Steelers player grabbed onto Chase’s facemask, jerked his head and appeared to punch him.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
16 Nov. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Waggled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waggled. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
