undulating

American  

[uhn-juh-leyt, uhn-dyuh-, -duh-] / ˈʌn dʒəˌleɪ tɪŋ, ˈʌn dyə-, -də- /

adjective

1. having a sinuous or wavelike shape or motion.

   Travelers marvel at the simplicity and beauty of the undulating bamboo roof, tree-like pillars, and natural light flooding into the airport terminal.

   The American goldfinch is easily detected in the spring or summer as a flash of yellow flying with an undulating motion.

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Other Word Forms

• nonundulating
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of undulating

First recorded in 1710–20; undulat(e) ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

McIlroy says he does not feel pain while hitting shots but the 7,394 yard Aronimink is a demanding and undulating walk.

From BBC • May 13, 2026

Bell’s device was the first to successfully convert the human voice into an undulating electrical current—introducing intimacy, emotion and increased immediacy into long-distance communications.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

CÚCUTA, Colombia—Amid the coca-leaf farms in the undulating borderlands of Colombia and Venezuela, neither country’s government wields power.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

KHARTOUM, Sudan — The diggers were efficient, cramming in so many graves that, from above, the field near the University of Sudan’s medical campus looked like a frieze of an undulating, gravel-brown sea.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

Vulnerable to attack and without shade, it uncoiled across the undulating land in long shallow S shapes.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Related Words

• rolling