WORD OF THE DAY
When you gesticulate, you make sweeping and excited movements with your hands when speaking. Someone describing a scary car accident might gesticulate wildly.
The verb gesticulate is related to the noun gesture. Gesture has stress on the first syllable, and gesticulate has the stress on the second syllable. Gesticulate, which comes from the Latin gesticulus meaning "to mimic," describes animated movements people make in conversation — with and without words. People who gesticulate could be said to talk with their hands!
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Vocabulary lists containing gesticulate
There’s more to language than what we say or write. The things we do physically can say a lot — even without words. And even though body language is word-less, there are lots of terms for describing the gestures, postures, and facial expressions we make when we want to say something without uttering a single word.
Learn these essential words that you'll encounter in literature, textbooks, class discussions, and more.
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