brandish
/ˈbrandɪʃ
/verb [with object]
Wave or flourish (something, especially a weapon) as a threat or in anger or excitement: a man leaped out brandishing a knife...
- This was soon displaced by another stereotype, a bearded guerilla fighter brandishing an automatic weapon.
- The shopkeeper was assaulted when four youths entered his shop brandishing the weapons and stole a sum of money.
- Since when did citizens brandishing weapons have the right to pull over other citizens?
Synonyms
flourish, wave, shake, wield, raise, hold aloft;
swing, twirl, wag, swish, flap;
display, flaunt, show off
Derivatives
brandisher
- Those elements are presentationally dangerous for brandishers of sincerity, and so are censored out.
- Unlike axe brandishers, slaughterers are deeply respected and admired by the other warriors of their tribe.
- The gun brandisher was possibly a passenger in a vehicle that had left the scene.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French brandiss-, lengthened stem of brandir; ultimately of Germanic origin and related to brand.