brandishes

verb

present tense third-person singular of brandish
as in waves
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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of brandishes Emma Mackey’s White Witch opens her eyes, flies in metallic couture, brandishes a sword, and rides wildly through London on a horse while the ’70s rock blares in the background. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2026 Kung Po Iberico Pork gets sweetness from the apple but still brandishes that spice. — Connie Ogle july 31, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026 No Elliot Stabler wannabe brandishes fists in her face. — Jim Higgins, jsonline.com, 24 Mar. 2026 Christa gleefully brandishes a page she’s ripped out of the phonebook that has her childhood address on it. — Hazlitt, 10 Dec. 2025 Harrelson brandishes that anything-goes leer that never gets old. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 11 Nov. 2025 The actor playing Brown wears a red hooded sweatshirt and brandishes a pocket knife similar to the one police say Brown used to fatally stab Zarutska. — Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 16 Sep. 2025 When a trompo taco is ordered, a cook brandishes a knife of ferocious sharpness, shaving a thin, broad piece large enough to overhang the corn tortilla it’s laid upon. — Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brandishes
  1. waves
  2. announces
  3. advertises
  4. produces
Verb
  • Picture a doorman who checks your ID with great care, then waves you into any apartment in the building.
    — Julian Durand, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • The Spa At the beach-level spa, the windows were left wide open during my 60-minute Salt Air Reset massage, making all-natural birdsong and waves the soundtrack of my treatment.
    — Katie Nanton, Travel + Leisure, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of waves
Verb
  • The series begins with a prison bus pulling up to a correctional facility in Georgia, where the commander of jail operations, Major Boughner, announces how the 30 participants, 27 men and 3 women, will be divided.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Part of the problem is that friction rarely announces itself as a five-alarm fire.
    — Rhodes Kriske, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of announces
Verb
  • Novo Nordisk, which makes Wegovy and Ozempic, advertises list prices ranging from $149 per month to $399 per month, depending on the dose.
    — Ben Smith, semafor.com, 29 Oct. 2026
  • The billboard along Independence advertises the Charlotte FC soccer team.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of advertises
Verb
  • Almost none has completed the reorganization that produces the compounding gains on the other side.
    — Stephen Messer, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Huntington’s is the result of a three-letter repeat, and researchers have spent years attempting to lower the levels of the RNA and protein this gene produces.
    — Anil Oza, STAT, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of produces

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Cite this Entry

“Brandishes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brandishes. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

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