wave — OET · Shobdo

wave

verb

1 Farrell waved a hand dismissively | the linesman waved his flag furiously:

move to and fro, move up and down, wag, waggle;

swing, shake, swish, sweep, swipe, brandish, flourish, flaunt, wield, flick, flutter.

2 the grass waved in the morning breeze:

ripple, flutter, undulate, stir, flap, sway, swing, waft, shake, quiver, oscillate, move;

blow.

3 the waiter was waving to them to sit closer:

gesture, gesticulate, signal, sign, beckon, indicate, motion, nod, bid.

4 her thick dark hair fell in a waving mass to her shoulders:

curl, kink, coil, undulate;

crimp, frizz, frizzle.

□ wave something aside

he waved aside her protest:

dismiss, reject, set/put/brush aside, shrug off, disregard, ignore, spurn, rebuff, discount, repudiate, put out of one's mind, play down, treat with contempt;

informal pooh-pooh, pour cold water on.

□ wave something down

he waved down a taxi and drove off:

flag down, hail, signal to stop, stop, signal, summon, call, shout to, accost.

noun

1 Whitlock gave him a friendly wave as he drove past:

gesture, gesticulation, hand movement;

signal, sign, motion, indication.

2 he loves surfing the big waves:

breaker, billow, roller, comber, ripple, white horse, white cap;

(waves) swell, surf, froth;

Australian, New Zealand bombora;

informal boomer;

North American, informal kahuna.

3 the wave of emigration to America:

flow, rush, surge, flood, stream, swell, tide, deluge, torrent, spate, billow.

4 Lee felt a wave of self-pity | a crime wave:

surge, rush, ripple, spasm, thrill, frisson, shiver, tingle, stab, dart;

upsurge, welling up, outbreak, rash;

feeling.

5 he had dark hair that sprang in thick waves from his forehead:

curl, kink, corkscrew, crimp, twist, twirl, ringlet, frizz, coil, loop, undulation.

6 electromagnetic waves | light waves:

ripple, vibration, oscillation, undulation.

□ make waves

informal

plenty of backbenchers continue to make waves:

cause trouble, be disruptive, be troublesome, cause a disturbance;

make an impression, be noticed.

wave Oxford Dictionary of English