make waves

1. Cause a disturbance or controversy, as in We've finally settled our differences, so please don't make waves. This expression alludes to causing turbulence in the water. [Slang; mid-1900s] Also see rock the boat.

Example Sentences

The self-assured world champion has the potential to make waves – in the ring and commercially - for years to come.

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Annabelle is not the first young woman from Norwich to make waves in the wrestling scene.

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Still, the shuttering of Participant Media and the travails of Trump biopic “The Apprentice,” coming in tandem with C-suite fantasies of a politics-free popular culture, suggest an unwillingness to make waves that profoundly misunderstands our moment, where fortune — think Kendrick Lamar vs.

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All this came with a sugary disco image and catchy bubblegum songs, also including Spirit, Body and Soul, Don't Make Waves and Don't Love Me Too Hard.

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Musical adaptation Wicked, sci-fi sequel Dune: Part Two and historical epic Gladiator II could all make waves this season, thanks in part to their huge box office success.

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Related Words

• agitate 
• arouse 
• awaken 
• disturb 
• fire up 
• galvanize 
• heighten 
• incite 
• inflame 
• kindle 
• provoke 
• rile 
• startle 
• stir 
• trigger 
• wake up 
• whip up 
• work up