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
Relevance
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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The structure flaps its wings when powered by electricity.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Apr. 2026 -
View gallery - 7 images A wooden dragon sculpture that gently flaps its wings has become a crowd-funding hit, but after seeing the traditional handcrafted work that's been put into every single model, making each one unique, the value of such a piece becomes strikingly clear.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
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More than a dozen films grossed over $100 million in China in 2017, but only two flicks have reached that milestone annually over the last several years.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
6 Apr. 2026
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Watch On Longing for the colorful tumbling force of fantastic '80s-era sci-fi sword-and-sorcery flicks that dominated multiplexes and mom-and-pop video rental shops in the Reagan years?—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Yet the gas tail still wags the dog.—
David Frykman,
Fortune,
25 Mar. 2026
-
When a dog repeatedly wags and whips its tail against hard surfaces, the tip can split open, bruise or break.—
Miriam Fauzia,
Dallas Morning News,
21 Jan. 2026
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
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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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The public discussion still swings between utopian promise and apocalyptic dread.—
Barry R. Davis,
Boston Herald,
17 Apr. 2026
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Sofi and Jordan rekindle friendships and more against a gorgeous backdrop as the pendulum swings between reconciliation and rupture.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The lens switches from distant to close subjects in a snap.—
Jim Fisher,
PC Magazine,
6 Apr. 2026
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With the session ticking towards the two-hour mark, Mudryk switches to shots from outside the box.—
Liam Twomey,
New York Times,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Her head bobs gently, then sharply tilts at specific moments, particularly when certain words cut through the stream of conversation.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2026
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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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Cite this Entry
“Waggles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waggles. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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