Synonyms for flap
flæpflap

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. flap

   A thing is shaken which is subjected to short and abruptly checked movements, as forward and backward, up and down, from side to side, etc. A tree is "shaken with a mighty wind;" a man slowly shakes his head. A thing rocks that is sustained from below; it swings if suspended from above, as a pendulum, or pivoted at the side, as a crane or a bridge-draw; to oscillate is to swing with a smooth and regular returning motion; a vibrating motion may be tremulous or jarring. The pendulum of a clock may be said to swing, vibrate, or oscillate; a steel bridge vibrates under the passage of a heavy train; the term vibrate is also applied to molecular movements. Jolting is a lifting from and letting down suddenly upon an unyielding surface; as, a carriage jolts over a rough road. A jarring motion is abruptly and very rapidly repeated through an exceedingly limited space; the jolting of the carriage jars the windows. Rattling refers directly to the sound produced by shaking. To joggle is to shake slightly; as, a passing touch joggles the desk on which one is writing. A thing trembles that shakes perceptibly and with an appearance of uncertainty and instability, as a person under the influence of fear; a thing shivers when all its particles are stirred with a slight but pervading tremulous motion, as a human body under the influence of cold; shuddering is a more pronounced movement of a similar kind, in human beings often the effect of emotional or moral recoil; hence, the word is applied by extension to such feelings even when they have no such outward manifestation; as, one says, "I shudder at the thought." To quiver is to have slight and often spasmodic contractile motions, as the flesh under the surgeon's knife. Thrill is applied to a pervasive movement felt rather than seen; as, the nerves thrill with delight; quiver is similarly used, but suggests somewhat more of outward manifestation. To agitate in its literal use is nearly the same as to shake, tho we speak of the sea as agitated when we could not say it is shaken; the Latin agitate is preferred in scientific or technical use to the Saxon shake, and especially as applied to the action of mechanical contrivances; in the metaphorical use agitate is more transitory and superficial, shake more fundamental and enduring; a person's feelings are agitated by distressing news; his courage, his faith, his credit, or his testimony is shaken. Sway applies to the movement of a body suspended from above or not firmly sustained from below, and the motion of which is less pronounced than swinging, smoother than vibrating, and not necessarily constant as oscillating; as, the swaying of a reed in the wind. Sway used transitively especially applies to motions of grace or dignity; brandish denotes a threatening or hostile motion; a monarch sways the scepter; the ruffian brandishes a club. To reel or totter always implies liability to fall; reeling is more violent than swaying, tottering more irregular; a drunken man reels; we speak of the tottering step of age or infancy. An extended mass which seems to lack solidity or cohesion is said to quake; as, a quaking bog. Quaver is applied almost exclusively to tremulous sounds of the human voice. Flap, flutter, and fluctuate refer to wave-like movements, flap generally to such as produce a sharp sound; a cock flaps his wings; flutter applies to a less pronounced and more irregular motion; a captive bird or a feeble pulse flutters. Compare FLUCTUATE.

   Synonyms:
   agitate, brandish, fluctuate, flutter, jar, joggle, jolt, jounce, oscillate, quake, quaver, quiver, reel, rock, shake, shiver, shudder, sway, swing, thrill, totter, tremble, vibrate, wave, waver

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. flapnoun

   any broad thin and limber covering attached at one edge; hangs loose or projects freely

   "he wrote on the flap of the envelope"

   Synonyms:
   fuss, flaps, fluttering, pother, tizzy, dither, flutter, flapping

2. dither, pother, fuss, tizzy, flapnoun

   an excited state of agitation

   "he was in a dither"; "there was a terrible flap about the theft"

   Synonyms:
   fluttering, flapping, squabble, dither, pettifoggery, hustle, bicker, flutter, tiff, hassle, stir, flurry, bother, ado, tizzy, bustle, pother, trouble, spat, fuss, flaps, bickering

3. flap, flapping, flutter, flutteringnoun

   the motion made by flapping up and down

   Synonyms:
   commotion, fluttering, flapping, disturbance, dither, waver, flicker, flutter, hoo-ha, to-do, flaps, hurly burly, kerfuffle, tizzy, disruption, pother, fuss, hoo-hah

4. flapnoun

   a movable piece of tissue partly connected to the body

   Synonyms:
   fuss, flaps, fluttering, pother, tizzy, dither, flutter, flapping

5. flap, flapsverb

   a movable airfoil that is part of an aircraft wing; used to increase lift or drag

   Synonyms:
   fuss, flaps, fluttering, pother, tizzy, dither, flutter, flapping

6. roll, undulate, flap, waveverb

   move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion

   "The curtains undulated"; "the waves rolled towards the beach"

   Synonyms:
   vagabond, wind, ramble, pother, wrap, seethe, beat, stray, rove, wave, roll, twine, cast, beckon, ruffle, wander, riffle, hustle, cockle, brandish, pluck, revolve, roll up, swan, roll out, tramp, turn over, flourish, dither, undulate, ripple, drift, curl, roam, wheel, range

7. flapverb

   move noisily

   "flags flapped in the strong wind"

   Synonyms:
   beat, dither, undulate, roll, pother, wave

8. beat, flapverb

   move with a thrashing motion

   "The bird flapped its wings"; "The eagle beat its wings and soared high into the sky"

   Synonyms:
   roll, exhaust, stupefy, baffle, stick, perplex, vanquish, get, pother, mystify, flummox, beat, outwit, circumvent, tick, wave, nonplus, trounce, pulsate, drum, beat up, bunk, dumbfound, tucker out, beat out, gravel, thump, ticktack, outsmart, thrum, ticktock, amaze, quiver, pound, work over, undulate, puzzle, dither, overreach, bewilder, crush, tucker, vex, wash up, outfox, pose, scramble, shell

9. beat, flapverb

   move with a flapping motion

   "The bird's wings were flapping"

   Synonyms:
   roll, exhaust, stupefy, baffle, stick, perplex, vanquish, get, pother, mystify, flummox, beat, outwit, circumvent, tick, wave, nonplus, trounce, pulsate, drum, beat up, bunk, dumbfound, tucker out, beat out, gravel, thump, ticktack, outsmart, thrum, ticktock, amaze, quiver, pound, work over, undulate, puzzle, dither, overreach, bewilder, crush, tucker, vex, wash up, outfox, pose, scramble, shell

10. dither, flap, potherverb

    make a fuss; be agitated

    Synonyms:
    roll, pother, undulate, dither, wave, beat

11. flapverb

    pronounce with a flap, of alveolar sounds

    Synonyms:
    beat, dither, undulate, roll, pother, wave

Matched Categories

1. • Animal Tissue
   • Articulate
   • Beat
   • Covering
   • Fuss
   • Move

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "flap":

   rabat, instability, outlier, tab

Suggested Resources

1. FLAP

   What does FLAP stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the FLAP acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

How to pronounce flap?

How to say flap in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use flap in a sentence?

1. Cynthia Jurilla Cordell:

   Some day, you might soar like an eagle, but for now, let me try to teach you how to flap your wings.

2. Cynthia J. Cordell:

   Some day you might soar like an eagle, but for now, let me help you to flap your wings.

3. David Soucie:

   On a forensic investigation, which is what's going on in France, you don't use the process of elimination and say, well, it must be a flap, you have to have forensic proof, which is the samples from the paint, from the metal, to tie it specifically to the aircraft. That's what they're waiting for, and that's what they mean by 100% conclusive.

4. William Jennings Bryan:

   I hope the two wings of the Democratic Party may flap together.

5. J & A Foundation:

   You can only flap your arms so much before gravity catches up to you.