as in flaps
a quick jerky movement from side to side or up and down
a quick waggle of her head to indicate "no"
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in flicks
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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waggles
Verb
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In the canonical metaphorical example, a butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil, and the cascading sequence of atmospheric perturbations leads to a tornado in Texas.—
Dan Garisto,
Scientific American,
22 Oct. 2025 -
That goes for Jimmy Kimmel and for anybody who flaps their gums for a living.—
Jesse Edwards,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Little bursts of dub delay flare without warning, kicking up dust devils; every now and then, the telltale sweep of the pitch-bend wheel flicks upward like a fast-rising tide and then, after a minute or two, falls back into place.—
Philip Sherburne,
Pitchfork,
14 Jan. 2026
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Throughout her 27-year career starring in billion-dollar franchises and indie flicks, Saldaña has made her mark on Hollywood despite the challenges.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In a lot of ways, Phil is the tail that wags the dog.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
31 Oct. 2025
-
As Gino wags his finger at his estranged wife, Natalie begins to approach Jasmine.—
Abigail Adams,
People.com,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Persistent muscle twitches Everyone’s muscles twitch from time to time, usually at various locations.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
15 Jan. 2026
-
Some devices, for example, track eye movements or other small muscle twitches to let users select words from a screen.—
Emma R. Hasson,
Scientific American,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
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When Bz points north, Earth’s field resists it; when Bz swings south, the two fields connect, allowing plasma to stream in.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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At 21 seconds, the person filming the video drives past the confrontation, and the camera swings to the other side of the street as someone in the car yells profanities.—
Kif Leswing,Terri Cullen,
CNBC,
25 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The bed was comfortable, the light switches user-friendly.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Jan. 2026
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Carolyn switches her nail color from a bold red to a blander shade; John hobbles out of his George magazine office wearing a cast on his left ankle due to a paragliding accident.—
Chris Murphy,
Vanity Fair,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Just after lunchtime on a Saturday in November, a sea of purple braids bobs in unison, barely clearing the tops of the movie-theater seats behind them.—
Eliza Berman,
Time,
9 Dec. 2025
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The reader bobs along in the author’s stream of consciousness, riding crests of despair, anger, and hilarity as Toews assembles the shards of her past to investigate her will to write, which is deeply entwined with her will to live.—
Kristen Martin,
The Atlantic,
27 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Waggles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waggles. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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