gesticulate
Americanverb (used without object)
-
gesticulates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gesticulated,
past participle, past
-
gesticulating
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
gesticulates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gesticulated,
past participle, past
-
gesticulating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
gesticulatornoun
-
overgesticulateverb
-
gesticulativeadjective
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gesticulatoryadjective
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overgesticulativeadjective
-
ungesticulatingadjective
-
ungesticulativeadjective
-
ungesticulatoryadjective
-
overgesticulativelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
gesticulatesimple
-
gesticulatessimple
-
have gesticulatedperfect
-
has gesticulatedperfect
-
am gesticulatingprogressive
-
are gesticulatingprogressive
-
is gesticulatingprogressive
-
have been gesticulatingperfect progressive
-
has been gesticulatingperfect progressive
Past
-
gesticulatedsimple
-
had gesticulatedperfect
-
was gesticulatingprogressive
-
were gesticulatingprogressive
-
had been gesticulatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of gesticulate
1595–1605; < Latin gesticulātus (past participle of gesticulārī ), equivalent to Late Latin (assumed in Latin ) gesticul ( us ) gesture (diminutive of gestus; see gestic, -cule 1) + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
When you gesticulate, you make sweeping and excited movements with your hands when speaking. Someone describing a scary car accident might gesticulate wildly. The verb gesticulate is related to the noun gesture. Gesture has stress on the first syllable, and gesticulate has the stress on the second syllable. Gesticulate, which comes from the Latin gesticulus meaning "to mimic," describes animated movements people make in conversation — with and without words. People who gesticulate could be said to talk with their hands!
Vocabulary lists containing gesticulate
The Lingo of Body Language
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Grade 10, List 4
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Life Is So Good
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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.
See Examples For:
Wax figures of scrappy, earnest young communists gesticulate during a 1921 meeting frozen in time, debating how best to bring Marxism to China.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Dart looked close to tears at the start of the second set and continued to gesticulate towards her team, which was led by mum Susie who has been coaching her in New York.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2024
They even made note of our facial expressions and the way we would gesticulate, and they worked that into it a bit, so I would say it was unusually collaborative.
From Salon ● Feb. 1, 2024
City’s manager was furious, repeatedly turning to the Anfield fans behind the dugout to gesticulate.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 16, 2022
It was maddening to watch the quarrelers gesticulate and utter tantalizingly elusive sentences which were, even when I opened the door of the office in hope of eavesdropping, swallowed up in the roar of traffic.
From Four and Twenty Beds by Nancy Vogel
Goodman is animated, her long red hair moving with her as she gesticulates.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 13, 2023
As she argues a point, she gesticulates broadly, leans forward and occasionally pounds the table.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 8, 2021
Instead, he drops it and picks it up, twirls it like a baton, and gesticulates wildly with it.
From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2019
The character — on closer inspection, an animated frog — paces and gesticulates, then disappears behind a fence before returning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2018
He gesticulates wildly toward Rosie, ranting without pause.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel gesticulated wildly at his players to push forward, then threw his arms up in exasperation.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 30, 2024
Officials gesticulated awkwardly on the sidelines as the scale of the error became clear.
From BBC ● May 1, 2023
The former National threw down his bat and gesticulated frantically while screaming at Hernandez.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 25, 2022
Kirby Smart leaped and danced and gesticulated across the field at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the entirety of Monday night.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 11, 2022
At first, she spoke in low, pleading tones, then she raised her voice and gesticulated wildly.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Viewers were left watching a silent movie of a shrinking figure gesticulating wildly into the wind.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026
When Jimmy is passionately advocating for something and Kayla is in the same frame, she’s often gesticulating, scrunching up her face or emitting noises like “pffffft.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
"Instead of listening to music, we listen to the news constantly," the father of three, gesticulating to emphasise his point, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Mar. 14, 2026
From early in the first set, Kyrgios was doing a lot of gesticulating and voicing his complaints between points.
From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2025
He shrieked and ran up the steps, gesticulating frantically at the top.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
