motion
Other forms: motions; motioned; motioning
Motion is the way things get from place to place. The ball rolling down a hill is in motion, and as Isaac Newton once proved, it will remain in motion until it hits a wall or something else that makes it stop.
When motion is used as a noun, it describes movement, like the motion that propels a car from one end of the highway to another. When used as a verb, motion means to signal or direct. "A restaurant patron will motion to the server when he's ready for the check." Someone who is just "going through the motions" doesn't have to move at all, because they're just pretending.
Definitions of motion
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the act of changing location from one place to another“police controlled the motion of the crowd”
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types:
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approach, approaching, coming
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
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advance, advancement, forward motion, onward motion, procession, progress, progression
the act of moving forward (as toward a goal)
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locomotion, travel
self-propelled movement
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lunge, lurch
the act of moving forward suddenly
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travel, traveling, travelling
the act of going from one place to another
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chase, following, pursual, pursuit
the act of pursuing in an effort to overtake or capture
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ascending, ascension, ascent, rise
the act of changing location in an upward direction
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descent
the act of changing your location in a downward direction
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swing, swinging, vacillation
changing location by moving back and forth
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return
the act of going back to a prior location
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coast, glide, slide
the act of moving smoothly along a surface while remaining in contact with it
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slippage
failing to hold or slipping out of place
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flow, stream
the act of flowing or streaming; continuous progression
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crawl
a very slow movement
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hurrying, speed, speeding
changing location rapidly
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displacement, translation
the act of uniform movement
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shift, shifting
the act of moving from one place to another
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haste, hurry, rush, rushing
the act of moving hurriedly and in a careless manner
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maneuver, manoeuvre, play
a deliberate coordinated movement requiring dexterity and skill
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migration
the movement of persons from one country or locality to another
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emigration, expatriation, out-migration
migration from a place (especially migration from your native country in order to settle in another)
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immigration, in-migration
migration into a place (especially migration to a country of which you are not a native in order to settle there)
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access
the act of approaching or entering
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closing, closure
approaching a particular destination; a coming closer; a narrowing of a gap
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landing approach
the approach to a landing field by an airplane
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push
an effort to advance
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career, life history
the general progression of your working or professional life
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march
a steady advance
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clear sailing, easy going, plain sailing
easy unobstructed progress
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brachiation
swinging by the arms from branch to branch
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walk, walking
the act of traveling by foot
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walk
the act of walking somewhere
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step
the act of changing location by raising the foot and setting it down
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gait
a horse's manner of moving
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run, running
the act of running; traveling on foot at a fast pace
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jog, lope, trot
a slow pace of running
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crawl, crawling, creep, creeping
a slow mode of locomotion on hands and knees or dragging the body
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circle, circuit, lap
movement once around a course
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circumnavigation
traveling around something (by ship or plane)
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peregrination
traveling or wandering around
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traversal, traverse
travel across
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roving, vagabondage, wandering
travelling about without any clear destination
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wayfaring
traveling (especially on foot)
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crossing
traveling across
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driving
the act of controlling and steering the movement of a vehicle or animal
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horseback riding, riding
travel by being carried on horseback
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air, air travel, aviation
travel via aircraft
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jump, parachuting
descent with a parachute
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journey, journeying
the act of traveling from one place to another
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leg, stage
a section or portion of a journey or course
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staging
travel by stagecoach
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on the road, on tour
travelling about
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junketing
taking an excursion for pleasure
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seafaring, water travel
travel by water
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commutation, commuting
the travel of a commuter
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tracking, trailing
the pursuit (of a person or animal) by following tracks or marks they left behind
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shadowing, tailing
the act of following someone secretly
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stalk, stalking
the act of following prey stealthily
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levitation
the act of raising (a body) from the ground by presumably spiritualistic means
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heave, heaving
the act of lifting something with great effort
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climb, mount
the act of climbing something
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soar, zoom
the act of rising upward into the air
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dive, nose dive, nosedive
a steep nose-down descent by an aircraft
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abseil, rappel
(mountaineering) a descent of a vertical cliff or wall made by using a doubled rope that is fixed to a higher point and wrapped around the body
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swoop
a swift descent through the air
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crash dive
a rapid descent by a submarine
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drop
the act of dropping something
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collapse, flop
the act of throwing yourself down
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reentry
the act of entering again
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remand
the act of sending an accused person back into custody to await trial (or the continuation of the trial)
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sideslip, skid, slip
an unexpected slide
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snowboarding
the act of sliding down a snow-covered slope while standing on a snowboard
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release, spill, spillage
the act of allowing a fluid to escape
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flood, outpouring, overflow
a large flow
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acceleration, quickening, speedup
the act of accelerating; increasing the speed
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deceleration
the act of decelerating; decreasing the speed
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scud, scudding
the act of moving along swiftly (as before a gale)
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run-up
the approach run during which an athlete gathers speed
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leapfrog
advancing as if in the child's game, by leaping over obstacles or competitors
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dance step, step
a sequence of foot movements that make up a particular dance
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bolt, dash
the act of moving with great haste
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scamper, scramble, scurry
the act of rushing about hastily in an undignified way
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takeaway
the act of taking the ball or puck away from the team on the offense (as by the interception of a pass)
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figure
a predetermined set of movements in dancing or skating
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completion, pass completion
(American football) a successful forward pass in football
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ball hawking
a skillful maneuver in catching balls or in stealing the ball from the opposing team
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assist
(sports) the act of enabling another player to make a good play
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icing, icing the puck
(ice hockey) the act of shooting the puck from within your own defensive area the length of the rink beyond the opponent's goal
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jugglery
the performance of a juggler
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obstruction
getting in someone's way
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baseball play
(baseball) a play executed by a baseball team
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footwork
the manner of using the feet
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shot, stroke
(sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand
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stroke
any one of the repeated movements of the limbs and body used for locomotion in swimming or rowing
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blitz, linebacker blitzing, safety blitz
(American football) defensive players try to break through the offensive line
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mousetrap, trap play
(American football) a play in which a defensive player is allowed to cross the line of scrimmage and then blocked off as the runner goes through the place the lineman vacated
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gold rush
a large migration of people to a newly discovered gold field
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type of:
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change
the action of changing something
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a change of position that does not entail a change of location“the reflex motion of his eyebrows revealed his surprise”
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types:
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abduction
(physiology) moving of a body part away from the central axis of the body
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adduction
(physiology) moving of a body part toward the central axis of the body
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agitation
the act of agitating something; causing it to move around (usually vigorously)
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body English
a motion of the body by a player as if to make an object already propelled go in the desired direction
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circumduction
a circular movement of a limb or eye
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disturbance
the act of disturbing something or someone; setting something in motion
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fetal movement, foetal movement
motion of a fetus within the uterus (usually detected by the 16th week of pregnancy)
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dart, flit
a sudden quick movement
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gesture
motion of hands or body to emphasize or help to express a thought or feeling
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headshake, headshaking
the act of turning your head left and right to signify denial or disbelief or bemusement
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inclination, inclining
the act of inclining; bending forward
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eversion, everting, inversion
the act of turning inside out
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inversion, upending
turning upside down; setting on end
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jerk, jerking, jolt, saccade
an abrupt spasmodic movement
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kick, kicking
a rhythmic thrusting movement of the legs as in swimming or calisthenics
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kneel, kneeling
supporting yourself on your knees
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lurch, pitch, pitching
abrupt up-and-down motion (as caused by a ship or other conveyance)
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eye movement
the movement of the eyes
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opening
the act of opening something
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prostration
the act of assuming a prostrate position
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reach, reaching, stretch
the act of physically reaching or thrusting out
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reciprocation
alternating back-and-forth movement
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reclining
the act of assuming or maintaining a reclining position
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retraction
the act of pulling or holding or drawing a part back
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retroflection, retroflexion
the act of bending backward
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rotary motion, rotation
the act of rotating as if on an axis
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closing, shutting
the act of closing something
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sitting
the act of assuming or maintaining a seated position
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posing, sitting
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
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snap
the act of snapping the fingers; movement of a finger from the tip to the base of the thumb on the same hand
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squat, squatting
the act of assuming or maintaining a crouching position with the knees bent and the buttocks near the heels
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sweep
a movement in an arc
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toss
an abrupt movement
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quiver, quivering, vibration
the act of vibrating
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wave
a movement like that of a sudden occurrence or increase in a specified phenomenon
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flicker, flutter, waver
the act of moving back and forth
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standing
the act of assuming or maintaining an erect upright position
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span, straddle
the act of sitting or standing astride
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stroke
a single complete movement
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squirm, wiggle, wriggle
the act of wiggling
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eurhythmics, eurhythmy, eurythmics, eurythmy
the interpretation in harmonious bodily movements of the rhythm of musical compositions; used to teach musical understanding
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windup
(baseball) the series of motions made by a pitcher prior to releasing a pitch
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jab, jabbing, poke, poking, thrust, thrusting
a sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow)
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mudra
ritual hand movement in Hindu religious dancing
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bob
a short abrupt inclination (as of the head)
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nod
the act of nodding the head
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stoop
an inclination of the top half of the body forward and downward
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nystagmus
involuntary movements of the eyeballs; its presence or absence is used to diagnose a variety of neurological and visual disorders
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saccade
a rapid, jerky movement of the eyes between positions of rest
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circumvolution
the act of turning or winding or folding around a central axis
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feather, feathering
turning an oar parallel to the water between pulls
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gyration, whirling
the act of rotating in a circle or spiral
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pivot
the act of turning on (or as if on) a pivot
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pronation
rotation of the hands and forearms so that the palms face downward
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spin, twirl, twist, twisting, whirl
the act of rotating rapidly
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spiral
flying downward in a helical path with a large radius
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supination
rotation of the hands and forearms so that the palms face upward
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turn, twist
turning or twisting around (in place)
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twist, wind, winding
the act of winding or twisting
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shaking
the act of causing something to move up and down (or back and forth) with quick movements
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stirring
agitating a liquid with an implement
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shake, wag, waggle
causing to move repeatedly from side to side
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worrying
the act of moving something by repeated tugs or pushes
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careen, rock, sway, tilt
pitching dangerously to one side
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overturn, turnover, upset
the act of upsetting something
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shudder, tremor
an involuntary vibration (as if from illness or fear)
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outreach
the act of reaching out
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key stroke, keystroke
the stroke of a key; one depression of a key on a keyboard
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turnout
(ballet) the outward rotation of a dancer's leg from the hip
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beat
a stroke or blow
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bow
a stroke with a curved piece of wood with taut horsehair strands that is used in playing stringed instruments
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carnival, circus
a frenetic disorganized (and often comic) disturbance suggestive of a large public entertainment
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disorganisation, disorganization
the disturbance of a systematic arrangement causing disorder and confusion
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disruption, perturbation
the act of causing disorder
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commotion, din, ruckus, ruction, rumpus, tumult
the act of making a noisy disturbance
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furor, furore
a sudden outburst (as of protest)
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havoc, mayhem
violent and needless disturbance
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battle royal, melee, scrimmage
a noisy riotous fight
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agitation, excitement, hullabaloo, turmoil, upheaval
disturbance usually in protest
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outburst, tumultuous disturbance
a sudden violent disturbance
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rampage, violent disorder
violently angry and destructive behavior
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derangement, overthrow, upset
the act of disturbing the mind or body
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swimming kick
a movement of the legs in swimming
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blow, buffet
a powerful stroke with the fist or a weapon
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type of:
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change
the action of changing something
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the use of movements (especially of the hands) to communicate familiar or prearranged signals
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synonyms:
gesture
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types:
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sign
a gesture that is part of a sign language
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gesticulation
a deliberate and vigorous gesture or motion
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beck
a beckoning gesture
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facial expression, facial gesture
a gesture executed with the facial muscles
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flourish
a showy gesture
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previous question
a motion calling for an immediate vote on the main question under discussion by a deliberative assembly
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shrug
a gesture involving the shoulders
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wafture, wave, waving
the act of signaling by a movement of the hand
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V sign
a sign (for victory); making a V with the index and middle fingers
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nod
a sign of assent or salutation or command
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bow, bowing, obeisance
the act of bending the head, body, or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting
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sign of the cross
a gesture with the right hand moving to form a cross; used by Catholics as a profession of faith
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curtsey, curtsy
bending the knees; a gesture of respect made by women
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emoticon
a representation of a facial expression (as a smile or frown) created by typing a sequence of characters in sending email
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gape
an expression of openmouthed astonishment
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face, grimace
a contorted facial expression
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frown, scowl
a facial expression of dislike or displeasure
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grin, grinning, smile, smiling
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
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laugh
a facial expression characteristic of a person laughing
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snarl
an angry vicious expression
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straight face
a serious facial expression giving no evidence of interest or amusement
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wink
closing one eye quickly as a signal
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wince
the facial expression of sudden pain
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brandish, flourish
the act of waving
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genuflection, genuflexion
the act of bending the knees in worship or reverence
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kotow, kowtow
a former Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead as a sign of respect or submission
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scrape, scraping
a deep bow with the foot drawn backwards (indicating excessive humility)
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salaam
a deep bow; a Muslim form of salutation
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type of:
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visual communication
communication that relies on vision
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a natural event that involves a change in the position or location of something
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synonyms:
movement
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types:
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crustal movement, tectonic movement
movement resulting from or causing deformation of the earth's crust
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approach, approaching
the event of one object coming closer to another
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passage, passing
the motion of one object relative to another
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deflection, deflexion
the movement of the pointer or pen of a measuring instrument from its zero position
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bend, bending
movement that causes the formation of a curve
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change of location, travel
a movement through space that changes the location of something
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undulation, wave
(physics) a movement up and down or back and forth
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jitter
a small irregular movement
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periodic motion, periodic movement
motion that recurs over and over and the period of time required for each recurrence remains the same
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heave
(geology) a horizontal dislocation
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backlash, rebound, recoil, repercussion
a movement back from an impact
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kick, recoil
the backward jerk of a gun when it is fired
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seek
the movement of a read/write head to a specific data track on a disk
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squeeze, wring
a twisting squeeze
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cam stroke, stroke, throw
the maximum movement available to a pivoted or reciprocating piece by a cam
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turn, turning
a movement in a new direction
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twist, wrench
a jerky pulling movement
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undulation
wavelike motion; a gentle rising and falling in the manner of waves
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moving ridge, wave
one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
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wobble
an unsteady rocking motion
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commotion, whirl, whirlwind
confused movement
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Brownian motion, Brownian movement, pedesis
the random motion of small particles suspended in a gas or liquid
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ascension
(astronomy) the rising of a star above the horizon
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circulation
free movement or passage (as of cytoplasm within a cell or sap through a plant)
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creep
a slow longitudinal movement or deformation
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breaker, breakers, surf
waves breaking on the shore
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backwash, wake
the wave that spreads behind a boat as it moves forward
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swash
the movement or sound of water
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riffle, ripple, rippling, wavelet
a small wave on the surface of a liquid
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gravitation wave, gravity wave
(physics) a wave that is hypothesized to propagate gravity and to travel at the speed of light
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sine wave
a wave whose waveform resembles a sine curve
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oscillation, vibration
(physics) a regular periodic variation in value about a mean
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fluctuation
a wave motion
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seiche
a wave on the surface of a lake or landlocked bay; caused by atmospheric or seismic disturbances
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standing wave, stationary wave
a wave (as a sound wave in a chamber or an electromagnetic wave in a transmission line) in which the ratio of its instantaneous amplitude at one point to that at any other point does not vary with time
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traveling wave, travelling wave
a wave in which the medium moves in the direction of propagation of the wave
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acoustic wave, sound wave
(acoustics) a wave that transmits sound
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wave form, wave shape, waveform
the shape of a wave illustrated graphically by plotting the values of the period quantity against time
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blast wave, shock wave
a region of high pressure travelling through a gas at a high velocity
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crestless wave, swell
the undulating movement of the surface of the open sea
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lift, rise
a wave that lifts the surface of the water or ground
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billow, surge
a large sea wave
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tidal wave
a wave resulting from the periodic flow of the tides that is caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon and sun
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tidal wave
an unusual (and often destructive) rise of water along the seashore caused by a storm or a combination of wind and high tide
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tsunami
a cataclysm resulting from a destructive sea wave caused by an earthquake or volcanic eruption
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roll, roller, rolling wave
a long heavy sea wave as it advances towards the shore
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harmonic motion
a periodic motion in which the displacement is either symmetrical about a point or is the sum of such motions
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bounce, bouncing
rebounding from an impact (or series of impacts)
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resilience, resiliency
an occurrence of rebounding or springing back
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instroke
the stroke of an engine piston moving away from the crankshaft
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outstroke
the stroke of an engine piston moving toward the crankshaft
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comber
a long curling sea wave
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white horse, whitecap
a wave that is blown by the wind so its crest is broken and appears white
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gravitation
movement downward resulting from gravitational attraction
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levitation
movement upward by virtue of lightness
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descent
a movement downward
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shimmy
an abnormal wobble in a motor vehicle (especially in the front wheels)
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entering, entrance
a movement into or inward
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fall
a movement downward
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flow, flowing
the motion characteristic of fluids (liquids or gases)
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carom, ricochet
a glancing rebound
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deflection, deflexion, refraction
the amount by which a propagating wave is bent
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reversal, turn around
turning in an opposite direction or position
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swerve, yaw
an erratic deflection from an intended course
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impulse, pulsation, pulse, pulsing
(electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients)
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flap, flapping, flutter, fluttering
the motion made by flapping up and down
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gyration, revolution, rotation
a single complete turn (axial or orbital)
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advance, progress, progression
a movement forward
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ascension, ascent, rise, rising
a movement upward
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spread, spreading
process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space
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stampede
a wild headlong rush of frightened animals (horses or cattle)
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translation
a uniform movement without rotation
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coming back, return
the occurrence of a change in direction back in the opposite direction
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volution
a rolling or revolving motion
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type of:
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happening, natural event, occurrence, occurrent
an event that happens
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a formal proposal for action made to a deliberative assembly for discussion and vote
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a request to a court for a ruling or order
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type of:
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petition, postulation, request
a formal message requesting something that is submitted to an authority
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petition, postulation, request
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a state of change“they were in a state of steady motion”
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Antonyms:
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lifelessness, motionlessness, stillness
a state of no motion or movement
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types:
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palpitation, quiver, quivering, shakiness, shaking, trembling, vibration
a shaky motion
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perpetual motion
motion that continues indefinitely without any external source of energy; impossible in practice because of friction
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precession
the motion of a spinning body (as a top) in which it wobbles so that the axis of rotation sweeps out a cone
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flow, stream
something that resembles a flowing stream in moving continuously
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tremolo
(music) a tremulous effect produced by rapid repetition of a single tone or rapid alternation of two tones
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tremor
shaking or trembling (usually resulting from weakness or stress or disease)
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type of:
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state
the way something is with respect to its main attributes
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lifelessness, motionlessness, stillness
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an optical illusion of motion produced by viewing a rapid succession of still pictures of a moving object
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synonyms:
apparent motion, apparent movement, movement
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type of:
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optical illusion
an optical phenomenon that results in a false or deceptive visual impression
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optical illusion
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show, express or direct through movement
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synonyms:
gesticulate, gesture
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types:
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wink
signal by winking
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exsert, extend, hold out, put out, stretch forth, stretch out
thrust or extend out
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shrug
raise one's shoulders to indicate indifference or resignation
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clap, spat
clap one's hands together
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acclaim, applaud, clap, spat
clap one's hands or shout after performances to indicate approval
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bless, sign
make the sign of the cross over someone in order to call on God for protection; consecrate
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nod
express or signify by nodding
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cross oneself
make the sign of the cross; in the Catholic religion
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bow, bow down
bend one's knee or body, or lower one's head
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shake
shake (a body part) to communicate a greeting, feeling, or cognitive state
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beckon, wave
signal with the hands or nod
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hyperextend
extend a joint beyond its normal range
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bravo
applaud with shouts of `bravo' or `brava'
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conge, congee
perform a ceremonious bow
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type of:
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communicate, intercommunicate
transmit thoughts or feelings
Pronunciation
US
/ˈmoʊʃən/
UK
/ˈməʊʃən/
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