gestures 1 of 2

noun

plural of gesture
1
as in signs
a movement of the body or limbs that expresses or emphasizes an idea or feeling a teenager who often shrugs her shoulders in a gesture of indifference

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in courtesies
an act or utterance that is a customary show of good manners sent a handwritten thank-you note as a gesture of his gratitude

Synonyms & Similar Words

gestures

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of gesture
as in motions
to direct or notify by a movement or gesture the police officer gestured me to the side of the road to tell me my headlight was out

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 gestures
Noun
This book forces us to consider how clothing can communicate identity without the body, or gestures, or the visage, but rather through arrangement and spatial orientation. — Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026 One of the sweetest gestures during the Halloween season in Kansas City comes from one of the sweetest companies in town — Russell Stover. — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2026 Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez gestures during a press conference at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid on December 15, 2025. — Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026 The device, which Snap CEO Evan Spiegel unveiled last month, responds to voice commands and hand gestures to interact with apps and the world around you. — Todd Spangler, Variety, 20 Oct. 2026 Phantom’s current implants use machine learning to associate muscle signals with specific gestures or movements, and can perform the same action at different speeds. — Greg Uyeno, IEEE Spectrum, 20 Oct. 2026 Large swaths of the film are composed of close-ups of people’s faces or hands, giving seemingly mundane exchanges and gestures — say, a moment when Evans, unimpressed with Holmes’s egg-whisking technique, confiscates the bowl — greater weight. — Alex Barasch, Vulture, 19 Oct. 2026 Hosting well is less about grand gestures and more about removing friction. — Lauren Schuster, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026 We had been told not to point, lest our gestures attract a sniper’s bullets. — Nicolas Niarchos, The New York Review of Books, 17 Oct. 2026
Verb
Health care executive Rick Jackson gestures to a supporter while qualifying to run for governor at the Georgia state Capitol last month. — Adam Beam, AJC.com, 10 Apr. 2026 Visit some wineries and the old tomato-canning factory at Vlychada, a museum that gestures both to an old family industry and also to contemporary art. — Timothy O'Grady, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Nov. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gestures
  1. signs
  2. courtesies
  3. motions
  4. gesticulations
  5. waves
  6. postures
  7. signals
Noun
  • Every year after Halloween, Spirit Halloween’s stores empty out and the signs come down.
    — Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Watch for unusual phone behavior An infected phone may show signs such as unexplained mobile data usage, excessive background activity, unexpected advertisements or apps appearing without your permission.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of signs
Noun
  • Small courtesies keep big efforts moving forward.
    — Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 15 Mar. 2026
  • With both courtesies and catastrophes refusing to conform, the canton’s school board, publishers, and clergy were forced to produce multiple editions of primers, textbooks, and catechisms; sometimes five parallel print runs were needed for a population the size of a town.
    — Simon Akam, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
Definition of courtesies
Verb
  • Luz, the group’s search leader and spokesperson for the day, immediately motions with her hand for the group to drive forward.
    — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 26 June 2026
Definition of motions
Noun
  • The performing community challenged that notion, tracing the scat-singing and gesticulations to earlier artists including Black jazz performer Baby Esther Jones and cabaret entertainer Florence Mills.
    — Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2026
  • But on a Sunday morning in July 1595, the groan of the heavy wooden door startled him from his gesticulations.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 Mar. 2026
Definition of gesticulations
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
Noun
  • Countdowns shape budgets and deterrence postures—which is why getting the timeline wrong has serious consequences, for all parties in the relationship.
    — Ningrong Liu, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • In particular, the Iyengar style of yoga uses a yoga chair (designed with an open back and a completely flat seat) for advanced postures like an upside-down inversion where the yogi’s shoulders rest on two chairs while their head hangs in between.
    — Jennifer Heimlich, Time, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of postures
Noun
  • Cancer can exploit molecular signals that restrain immune responses, allowing malignant cells to escape attack even when identified.
    — Mike McRae October 25, New Atlas, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Yet advertising systems may still use that activity as one of several signals when building a profile.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of signals

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Cite this Entry

“Gestures.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gestures. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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