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Synonyms

flag-waving

American  
[flag-wey-ving] / ˈflægˌweɪ vɪŋ /

noun

  1. an ostentatiously emotional display of patriotism or factionalism.

flag-waving British  

noun

  1. informal

    1. an emotional appeal or display intended to arouse patriotic or nationalistic feeling

    2. ( as modifier )

      a flag-waving speech
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • flag-waver noun

Etymology

Origin of flag-waving

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As a red-blooded, flag-waving, apple-pie-consuming American, I am feeling so grateful for “Dying for Sex,” easily the best show of the year, along with “The Lowdown,” “Untamed” and a handful of others.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 24, 2025

After showing the president speaking, the programme played footage of flag-waving men marching on the Capitol, the Telegraph said.

From BBC • Nov. 4, 2025

On Sunday, Perez whipped up thousands of rapturous flag-waving supporters at a launch event in Madrid where he vowed to attack corruption, crime and traditional politics.

From Barron's • Oct. 12, 2025

Kid Rock and Hulk Hogan and all the indistinguishable flag-waving country singers no doubt had their uses, but no one imagined they had any connection to or understanding of 21st-century youth culture.

From Salon • Sep. 14, 2025

The Duchess and I were two tired mice by the time the Princess rolled out of the palace gates, behind her royal mother, into the sea of flag-waving humans.

From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck

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.