A cold wave passed over Japan.
Source: tatoeba (21120)
Wave
/weɪv/
Synonyms for "wave" (381 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (77)
accostaddressadvertiseaffectafroairambagesamplitudeanfractuosityantinodebarberbe poisedbeatbeat the drumbetokenbickerbillowblazonblazon forthbob
Show 46 more words
bobbleborebowbrandishbrandishingbreakbreakersbreathebring forthbring forwardbring into viewbring outbring to noticecareenchopchoppinesschopping seacircuitousnesscircumambagescircumbendibuscircumlocutioncircumvolutioncogglecoifcoiffurecold wavecombcomberconkconvolutioncrashcrestcrinklecrinklingcurtsydancedangledashde broglie wavedemonstratedevelopdiffractiondipdirty waterdisclosedisplay
Verb(5 words)
Strong matches (114)
divulgedramatizeeagreebb and flowelectromagnetic radiationelectromagnetic waveemblazonembodyembraceenactevidenceevinceexchange colorsexhibitexpose to viewexpressflagflag downflapflash
Show 67 more words
flauntflauntingflexuosityflexuousnessflickflickerflipflitflitterfloatflopflourishflourishingfluctuateflutterflyfrequencyfrequency bandfrequency spectrumgive a signalgive signgive the nodgive tokenglancego pitapatgravity wavegreetingground swellguided wavegutterhailhail and speakhaircuthairdohairstylehalf-masthand clasphand-clasphandlehandshakeheaddressheaveheavy seaheavy swellhellohighlighthoist a bannerhold uphome permanenthow-do-you-dohugilluminatein phaseincarnateindicateinterferenceintorsioninvolutionkickkisslashleerlibrateliftlightlongitudinal wavelop
Noun(20 words)
epidemicepidemicsflailflappingflapsfloodflourishesflurryfluttergerman gestegesturegesture of thanksgesture signalinggesture to modify seatinggesturesgreetinggroundswellgroundswellshand gesturelapping
Related words (190)
lurchmake a show ofmake a signmake clearmake plainmanifestmaterializemeanmeandermeanderingmechanical wavemotionnaturalnodnodenudgenutateoscillateout of phasepalpitate
Show 130 more words
paradepeakpendulateperformperiodperiodic wavepermanentpermanent wavepitchpitter patterpitter-patterpokepompadourpopplepresentprocessproducepulseput forthput forwardradio waveraise a cryrashrayreelreinforcementrepresentresonanceresonance frequencyresonaterevealrifflerippleriserise and fallrivulationrockrollroll outrollerrough watersalutationsalutescendseaseismic wavesendset forthshakeshakingshingleshock waveshowshow forthsignsignalsignalizesinuationsinuositysinuousnessslatslinkinesssmashsmilesmile of recognitionsnakinesssnapsound an alarmsound the trumpetsound wavespeakspluttersportspotlightsputtersurfsurface wavesurgeswagswayswellswingswingingswitchthrobtidal boretidal wavetide wavetokentorsiontortilitytortuositytortuousnesstosstouchtransverse wavetrimtrot outtroughtrumpettrumpet forthtsunamiturningtwistingundulateundulationunfoldunfurl a flagvacillatevauntvibratewagwagglewater wavewave a flagwave equationwave motionwave numberwave the handwavelengthwaveletwaverwavingwhite horseswhitecapswieldwigwagwindingwinkwobble
Noun(31 words)
make a gesturemotion changedmotion verbmotion wordmotioningmoving ridgeolaonrushpermpermingpermspulsesrampagesripplesripplingsignalsurgesurgingswayswell
Show 11 more words
Adjective(2 words)
mechanical signalmotionless state
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: accost, address, advertise, affect, afro.
- Sentence evidence is available for wave, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from moby, opengloss, wordnet, derived_reverse, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "wave".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "wave"
Keep "wave" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "wave" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "wave", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "wave" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
37 entriesadult femalearrangeatmospheric conditioncoifcoiffecoiffureconditionscurvecurved shapedisplacedisturbancedodressgesticulate
Showing 16 of 37 words.
More specific
13 entriesapplause wavebreakerfarewell wavefear wavefriendly wavehand wavehello waveprotest wavesalutesurfswelltidal waveundulation
Collocations
10 entriesarm wavebrain wavehand waveocean waveradio wavesound wavetidal wavewave heightwave motionwave pattern
Inflections
3 entriesDerivations
5 entriesTranslations
72 translations across 36 languages.
Albanian
1 entries- rendem verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
1 entries- ܪܲܦܪܸܦ verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Bashkir
4 entries- елберләү verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- елпелдәү verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- ялпылдау verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- өлтәнләү verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Belarusian
2 entries- ві́цца verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- развява́цца verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Bulgarian
1 entries- ве́я се verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Danish
2 entries- vaje verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- vifte verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Dutch
3 entries- wapperen verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- zwaaien verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- zwenken verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Esperanto
1 entries- svingi verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Finnish
3 entries- aaltoilla verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- hulmuta verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- liehua verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
French
1 entries- flotter verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Galician
1 entries- ondular verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
German
4 entries- flattern verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- schwenken verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- wedeln verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- wogen verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Greek
1 entries- κυματίζω verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Hungarian
1 entries- leng verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Ingrian
1 entries- viuhkaa verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Irish
1 entries- croith verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Italian
1 entries- ondeggiare verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Japanese
1 entries- 揺れる verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Korean
1 entries- 흔들리다 verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Latin
1 entries- quassō verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Latvian
1 entries- viļņot verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Māori
4 entries- manana verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- pioi verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- pīoi verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- pīwari verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Northern Kurdish
1 entries- pêl verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Norwegian Bokmål
1 entries- vaie verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Norwegian Nynorsk
1 entries- vaie verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Polish
3 entries- falować verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- powiewać verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- łopotać verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Portuguese
1 entries- ondular verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Romanian
3 entries- ondula verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- undui verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- învălura verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Russian
2 entries- ви́ться verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- развева́ться verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Scottish Gaelic
2 entries- crath verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- smèid verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Serbo-Croatian
4 entries- lepršati verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- vihoriti verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- вихорити verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- лепршати verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Spanish
3 entries- olear verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- ondear verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- ondular verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Swedish
1 entries- vaja verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Tagalog
4 entries- ikampay verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- ikaway verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- iwagayway verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- kumampay verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Ukrainian
3 entries- ви́тися verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- майорі́ти verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
- розвіва́тися verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
West-Frisian
1 entries- wuiven verb (to move back and forth repeatedly)
Sample sentences
46 total sentences available.
The earthquake created a tremendous sea wave.
Source: tatoeba (45129)
Quite a few people were killed on the cold wave that hit this area.
Source: tatoeba (57895)
A cold wave hit this district.
Source: tatoeba (57896)
Showing 4 of 46 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "wave"?
Closest matches include accost, address, advertise, affect, afro.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "wave"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.