Antonyms for wag

Grammar : Noun, verb

Spell : wag

Phonetic Transcription : wæg

Definition of wag

Origin : early 13c., "waver, vacillate, lack steadfastness," probably from a Scandinavian source (cf. Old Norse vagga "a cradle," Danish vugge "rock a cradle," Old Swedish wagga "fluctuate"), and in part from Old English wagian "move backwards and forwards;" all from Proto-Germanic *wagojanan (cf. Old High German weggen, Gothic wagjan "to wag"), probably from PIE root *wegh- "to move about" (see weigh). Meaning "to move back and forth or up and down" is from c.1300. Wagtail is attested from c.1500 as a kind of small bird (late 12c. as a surname); 18c. as "a harlot," but seems to be implied much earlier:
If therefore thou make not thy mistress a goldfinch, thou mayst chance to find her a wagtaile. [Lyly, "Midas," 1592]
Wag-at-the-wall (1825) was an old name for a hanging clock with pendulum and weights exposed.

noun person who is very funny
verb wiggle back and forth

Example sentences :

Let them be what they might, the pendulum should wag, and have a fair chance of doing its best.
Extract from : « Wilfrid Cumbermede » by George MacDonald

The hunger that possessed her made her wag her head as if senile.
Extract from : « L'Assommoir » by Emile Zola

He had only a stump of a tail, but he will wag it—when next his master sees him!
Extract from : « A Boy I Knew and Four Dogs » by Laurence Hutton

Say it to your dogs, however, and see if they do not wag their tails.
Extract from : « Five Mice in a Mouse-trap » by Laura E. Richards

If he wag his tail, then will I sing; if he do not wag his tail, then—then will I not be silent.
Extract from : « The Shadow of a Crime » by Hall Caine

This went on for months, and in that solitude no idle tongue was set to wag.
Extract from : « A Son of Hagar » by Sir Hall Caine

But if my tongue is not to wag, whatever shall I do to earn my dinner?
Extract from : « The Symposium » by Xenophon

His stub of a tail jerked spasmodically, in its struggle to wag.
Extract from : « The House in the Water » by Charles G. D. Roberts

Both talked at once, and as fast as their tongues could wag.
Extract from : « The Carroll Girls » by Mabel Quiller-Couch

Some wag of the mess had said something jocular; to a man they were laughing convulsively.
Extract from : « The Long Roll » by Mary Johnston

Synonyms for wag

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019