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View synonyms for dangle

dangle

[ dang-guhl ]

verb (used without object)

, dan·gled, dan·gling.
  1. to hang loosely, especially with a jerking or swaying motion:

    The rope dangled in the breeze.

    Synonyms: flap, sway, swing

  2. to hang around or follow a person, as if seeking favor or attention.
  3. Grammar. to occur as a modifier without a head or as a participle without an implied subject, as leaving the tunnel in The daylight was blinding, leaving the tunnel.


verb (used with object)

, dan·gled, dan·gling.
  1. to cause to dangle; hold or carry swaying loosely.
  2. to offer as an inducement.

noun

  1. the act of dangling.
  2. something that dangles.

dangle

/ ˈdæŋɡəl /

verb

  1. to hang or cause to hang freely

    his legs dangled over the wall

  2. tr to display as an enticement

    the hope of a legacy was dangled before her



noun

  1. the act of dangling or something that dangles

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Derived Forms

  • ˈdanglingly, adverb
  • ˈdangler, noun

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Other Words From

  • dangler noun
  • dangling·ly adverb

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Word History and Origins

Origin of dangle1

1580–90; expressive word akin to Norwegian, Swedish dangla, Danish dangle dangle

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Word History and Origins

Origin of dangle1

C16: perhaps from Danish dangle, probably of imitative origin

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. keep someone dangling, to keep someone in a state of uncertainty.

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Example Sentences

At the central port, cranes dangle in disuse and buildings open to the sky.

He said the Taliban typically dangle peace talks as a time-buying tactic, and “believe they will win on the battleground.”

Decorative silk tassels dangle from the fingers of disembodied hands reaching through the walls.

Dangle mere feet from one of these behemoths to feel very small indeed.

Way to let the wife dangle way out there on a limb for you, man.

You have learnt to sit behind the stove like an old crone, and to dangle at the apronstrings of the women.

The devil especially loves to dangle his tail in the affairs of poor desolate women, and to this Caroline has come.

He sits shambling in the saddle, his smock and tall boots dangle on his bony figure.

A tangled wisp of unkempt sandy hair never failed to dangle below the curtain of the sun-bonnet on the back of her neck.

Every few steps some man would sink into the ice-pack up to his waist and his legs would dangle in slush without finding bottom.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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dangerous offenderdangleberry