Hand-waving
adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Alternative spelling of hand waving. alt-of, alternative, uncountable
"So when we're discussing thought and conscious processes, talking about minds is precise, and even measurable (what else do public opinion pollsters do?) while talking about brains is just hand-waving."
Verb
- 1 present participle and gerund of hand-wave form-of, gerund, participle, present
Adjective
- 1 Alternative spelling of handwaving. alt-of, alternative
"For years much of this has been explained with hand-waving references to body types and metabolism—broadly accurate, but cold comfort to the estimated 61% of Americans who are overweight or obese and want to have their weight controlled, not merely explained."
Example
More examples"I need exact figures, not hand-waving and guesses."
More for "hand-waving"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.