undulate
1 of 2adjective
ˈən-dyə- undulate
2 of 2verb
intransitive verb
transitive verb
Did you know?
Make Waves With the History of Undulate
Undulate and inundate are word cousins that branch from unda, the Latin word for "wave." No surprise there. But would you have guessed that abound, surround, and redound are also unda offspring? The connection between unda and these words is easier to see when you learn that at some point in their early histories each of them essentially had the meaning of "to overflow"—a meaning that inundate still carries, along with its "overwhelm" sense.
Example Sentences
Aleta Burchyski, Outside Online, 20 May 2020 Dots undulate, bubble up, then dissolve into the depths below my cellphone screen. New York Times, 29 Mar. 2022 For miles, the soft green slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains undulate, fading into a honeyed patchwork of farmland and forest that kiss the horizon. Washington Post, 26 Feb. 2022 Thousands of variously sized glass marbles, arranged on a dark, round mat, seem to undulate like boiling water, or maybe spacetime in a black hole. Laura Hudson, Wired, 16 Nov. 2021 Two weeks ago, as the landslide hit unprecedented speed, causing the ground around it to undulate with each passing truck, the team conceded defeat and closed the back half of the park weeks earlier than anticipated. Time, 7 Sep. 2021 Visitors tour through a history of the 19th-century painter's famously dramatic life and are surrounded by more then 300 of his paintings and sketches, which animate and undulate and drift around on all sides. Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 27 July 2021 Their five-centimeter-thick quadruped was able to crawl and undulate its way through a space just two centimeters high. Larry Greenemeier, Scientific American, 30 Nov. 2011 Blades of strikingly green grass undulate in the currents. Shane Gross; Text By Katherine Harmon Courage, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Nov. 2020 See More Word History
Adjective
Latin undulatus, from *undula, diminutive of unda wave — more at water
Verb
Late Latin undula small wave, from Latin *undula
Adjective
1658, in the meaning defined above
Verb
1664, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Kids Definition
undulate
verb
Gail Carson Levine, Ella Enchanted Medical Definition
undulate
adjective
ˈən-d(y)ə- -ˌlāt undulate
verb
Synonyms & Similar Words
- oscillate
- wave
- fluctuate
- flutter
- vibrate
- flicker
- shake
- convulse
- quiver
- sway
- jiggle
- shudder
- wobble
- agitate
- jounce
- joggle
- rock
- tremble
- jerk
- jolt
- wabble
- shiver
- quake
- quaver
- swing
- judder
- bucket
- pulsate
- thrill
- beat
- twitch
- chatter
- waver
- throb
- palpitate
- pulse
- dodder
- pit-a-pat
- pitter-patter
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of undulate are fluctuate, oscillate, sway, swing, vibrate, and waver. While all these words mean "to move from one direction to its opposite," undulate suggests a gentle wavelike motion.
While in some cases nearly identical to undulate, fluctuate suggests constant irregular changes of level, intensity, or value.
The words oscillate and undulate can be used in similar contexts, but oscillate stresses a usually regular alternation of direction.
While the synonyms sway and undulate are close in meaning, sway implies a slow swinging or teetering movement.
Although the words swing and undulate have much in common, swing implies a movement of something attached at one end or one side.
The meanings of vibrate and undulate largely overlap; however, vibrate suggests the rapid oscillation of an elastic body under stress or impact.
In some situations, the words waver and undulate are roughly equivalent. However, waver stresses irregular motion suggestive of reeling or tottering.