as in to wave
to put into view in a threatening or excited manner
She brandished a stick at the dog. brandished a petition signed by hundreds of town residents
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Recent Examples of brandish
The men would brandish firearms and smash car windows before demanding that the victim hand over the money.
—
Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2026
In the Menil work, the central character is an artist brandishing a bouquet of colored pencils, surrounded by a seraphic tumble of monochrome extras that are her handiwork.
—Jeremy Lybarger, Artforum, 2 June 2026
Her description of the deceased Alex Pretti brandishing a gun that threatened the lives of Border Patrol officers was quickly debunked, with several videos showing how he was killed despite posing no threat.
—Sheldon Jacobson, Twin Cities, 2 June 2026
Loyalty is displayed by wearing club or country colors, kits, jerseys, and badges and brandishing flags and banners.
—Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for brandish
Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2026
In the Menil work, the central character is an artist brandishing a bouquet of colored pencils, surrounded by a seraphic tumble of monochrome extras that are her handiwork.
—Jeremy Lybarger, Artforum, 2 June 2026
Her description of the deceased Alex Pretti brandishing a gun that threatened the lives of Border Patrol officers was quickly debunked, with several videos showing how he was killed despite posing no threat.
—Sheldon Jacobson, Twin Cities, 2 June 2026
Loyalty is displayed by wearing club or country colors, kits, jerseys, and badges and brandishing flags and banners.
—Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for brandish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brandish
Verb
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Algerian flags waved above the crowd as chants echoed through the plaza, alongside the sounds of drums, horns and singing.—
J.M. Banks
June 15,
Kansas City Star,
16 June 2026
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Up in the stands, fans waved their own flags — including some sneaked in over the objections of FIFA and the courts — and wrestled with emotions, as boos, howls and hisses rained down from all corners of the stadium.—
Rick Maese,
Washington Post,
16 June 2026
Verb
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Now, more than three months after he was killed at the start of the US-Israeli war, the date of his burial has been announced.—
Kevin Liptak,
CNN Money,
14 June 2026
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The San Francisco 49ers, for whom Smith had a terrific rookie season, issued a statement announcing his passing on Saturday afternoon.—
Blair Kerkhoff,
Kansas City Star,
14 June 2026
Verb
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In the 1970s, what was then West Germany co-produced the Tornado bomber with the UK and Italy; then in the 1990s Germany worked with the UK, Italy and Spain to produce the dog-fighting Eurofighter jet.—
Joseph Ataman,
CNN Money,
13 June 2026
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Moss is also executive producing under her Love & Squalor Pictures banner in addition to starring.—
Joe Otterson,
Variety,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Brandish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brandish. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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