as in waving
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 brandishing
Notah was indicted on one count of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
—
Perry Vandell, The Arizona Republic, 6 Dec. 2024
Flores then hopped out of the back seat — brandishing a gun and wearing a ski mask — and attempted to grab the suitcase from the owner.
—Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 27 Nov. 2024
Barreto, who was 26 at the time, matched the description of a suspect reportedly brandishing a gun and committing traffic violations with a group of people on dirt bikes, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez said at a news conference immediately after the incident.
—Amanda Musa, CNN, 23 Nov. 2024
And on Christmas Day in 2021, a man appeared at Windsor Castle brandishing a crossbow with plans to assassinate the Queen.
—Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week Uk, theweek, 19 Nov. 2024
Enter Microsoft—brandishing a checkbook with a billion-dollar grin.
—Sejal Sharma, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2024
While the announcement was being filmed, staffers crowded around the girls, brandishing four cameras and two phones; a laptop served as a makeshift teleprompter.
—Alex Barasch, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
Gang members brandishing automatic rifles stormed through a town in Haiti’s main breadbasket region, killing at least 70 and forcing over 6,000 to flee, causing widespread shock even in a country grown accustomed to outbreaks of violence.
—Reuters, NBC News, 5 Oct. 2024
Hundreds of Californians weighed in, brandishing exclamation points like spears.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2024
Perry Vandell, The Arizona Republic, 6 Dec. 2024
Flores then hopped out of the back seat — brandishing a gun and wearing a ski mask — and attempted to grab the suitcase from the owner.
—Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 27 Nov. 2024
Barreto, who was 26 at the time, matched the description of a suspect reportedly brandishing a gun and committing traffic violations with a group of people on dirt bikes, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez said at a news conference immediately after the incident.
—Amanda Musa, CNN, 23 Nov. 2024
And on Christmas Day in 2021, a man appeared at Windsor Castle brandishing a crossbow with plans to assassinate the Queen.
—Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week Uk, theweek, 19 Nov. 2024
Enter Microsoft—brandishing a checkbook with a billion-dollar grin.
—Sejal Sharma, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2024
While the announcement was being filmed, staffers crowded around the girls, brandishing four cameras and two phones; a laptop served as a makeshift teleprompter.
—Alex Barasch, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
Gang members brandishing automatic rifles stormed through a town in Haiti’s main breadbasket region, killing at least 70 and forcing over 6,000 to flee, causing widespread shock even in a country grown accustomed to outbreaks of violence.
—Reuters, NBC News, 5 Oct. 2024
Hundreds of Californians weighed in, brandishing exclamation points like spears.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near brandishing
Cite this Entry
“Brandishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brandishing. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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