as in flapping
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as in motioning
to direct or notify by a movement or gesture
waved them over to the side of the road
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of waving
Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
Flag waving, immigration restriction, and culture-war rallying cries can shore up the MAGA-tech coalition, but more will be needed to achieve lasting success.
—Walter Russell Mead, The Atlantic, 24 Jan. 2026
Assuming whatever creature birthed from a spider egg was also a shapeshifter would even allow the show to bring back everyone’s favorite dancing clown in a modern-day context without too much hand-waving.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 15 Dec. 2025
Some 65,000 fans reveling in SDFC’s six goals scored and vibing off the supporter groups’ chants, drum-banging and flag-waving.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Nov. 2025
Males and females both wave their legs and the waving was not related to courtship or competition.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 11 Sep. 2025
Angela Haupt, Time, 27 Feb. 2026
The victory was patriotic, not only in flag wearing and flag waving, but in words as well.
—Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 26 Feb. 2026
That changed a bit on a sunny Saturday in San Francisco, the contest assuming a smidgen of campaign heat — chanting crowds, sign-waving supporters, call-and-response from the audience — as the state party held its annual convention in this bluest of cities.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026
And an hour before the match started came chants and smoke and flag waving.
—Dallas Morning News, 25 Feb. 2026
This little guy has a big personality and loves to show it off, waving at everyone, even passing cars.
—Sydney Cisco, Variety, 25 Feb. 2026
Somebody grabbed the ax, and the three men ran at him, yelling and waving their arms.
—Doris Decleene, Outdoor Life, 25 Feb. 2026
This photograph shows European countries’ flags waving in front of the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, eastern France, on June 6, 2024.
—Chloe Taylor,holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 24 Feb. 2026
To his credit, Elon didn’t stop waving red flags.
—Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 20 Feb. 2026
Noun
The flag-waving, the face paint, the pugnacious songs, the banners, the bellicose taunts at the opponents, the arms flung out in unison foster a collective spirit that can turn violent at times.
—Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
Flag waving, immigration restriction, and culture-war rallying cries can shore up the MAGA-tech coalition, but more will be needed to achieve lasting success.
—Walter Russell Mead, The Atlantic, 24 Jan. 2026
Assuming whatever creature birthed from a spider egg was also a shapeshifter would even allow the show to bring back everyone’s favorite dancing clown in a modern-day context without too much hand-waving.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 15 Dec. 2025
Some 65,000 fans reveling in SDFC’s six goals scored and vibing off the supporter groups’ chants, drum-banging and flag-waving.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Nov. 2025
Males and females both wave their legs and the waving was not related to courtship or competition.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
When—and why—laughter works In the study, Sezer and her colleagues ran six experiments involving more than 3,000 participants who read about other people’s embarrassing mishaps, like dramatically knocking over a glass in a restaurant or enthusiastically waving at the wrong person.
—Angela Haupt, Time, 27 Feb. 2026
The victory was patriotic, not only in flag wearing and flag waving, but in words as well.
—Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 26 Feb. 2026
That changed a bit on a sunny Saturday in San Francisco, the contest assuming a smidgen of campaign heat — chanting crowds, sign-waving supporters, call-and-response from the audience — as the state party held its annual convention in this bluest of cities.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026
And an hour before the match started came chants and smoke and flag waving.
—Dallas Morning News, 25 Feb. 2026
This little guy has a big personality and loves to show it off, waving at everyone, even passing cars.
—Sydney Cisco, Variety, 25 Feb. 2026
Somebody grabbed the ax, and the three men ran at him, yelling and waving their arms.
—Doris Decleene, Outdoor Life, 25 Feb. 2026
This photograph shows European countries’ flags waving in front of the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, eastern France, on June 6, 2024.
—Chloe Taylor,holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 24 Feb. 2026
To his credit, Elon didn’t stop waving red flags.
—Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 20 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waving
Noun
-
Somatic shaking can look a little different from one person to the next, but usually involves a few minutes of wildly uncoordinated jumping, arm flapping, and foot stomping.—
Tom Gavin,
EverydayHealth.com,
2 Mar. 2026
-
The doll also was given articulated elbows and wrists to acknowledge stimming, hand flapping and other gestures that some autistic people use to process sensory information or to express excitement, according to Mattel.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
With the game well out of reach and 10 seconds to play, Tre White dunked — despite Self motioning from the sideline to dribble it out.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
25 Jan. 2026
-
Good appears to be motioning to them with her hands.—
Danya Gainor,
CNN Money,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Not only are customers being driven mad by the bots getting orders completely wrong, but even some company executives are also being worn down by the flailing effort.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
26 Feb. 2026
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But even if part of the point is to show that healing doesn’t happen overnight, the catharsis is too vague to reward all the flailing distress.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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His lyrics detail a process of active healing, gesturing at a contentedness that beds in as your 20 begin to wane.—
Liam Inscoe-Jones,
Pitchfork,
5 Mar. 2026
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Two tiny humanoid robots that can play soccer stand in a glass case, one blinking and gesturing at visitors and the other partially disassembled to reveal the engineering inside.—
Miriam Fauzia,
Dallas Morning News,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Waving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waving. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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