undulation

American  

[uhn-juh-ley-shuhn, uhn-dyuh-, -duh-] / ˌʌn dʒəˈleɪ ʃən, ˌʌn dyə-, -də- /

noun

1. an act of undulating; a wavelike motion.

2. a wavy form or outline.

3. one of a series of wavelike bends, curves, or elevations.

4. Physics.

   1. a wave.

   2. the motion of waves.

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undulation British  

/ ˌʌndjʊˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of undulating

2. any wave or wavelike form, line, etc

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Etymology

Origin of undulation

First recorded in 1640–50; undul(ate) + -ation

Explanation

Undulation is a flowing, up-and-down movement like the motion of waves. Have you ever looked out over the ocean and watched the water flow up and down in waves? If so, you watched undulation, which is exactly that type of movement. Undulation best applies to waves, but it can also describe similar movements. If dancers are moving in a flowing manner, that's also undulation. The verb form of this word is undulate, and both come from the Latin word for "wave," unda.

Example Sentences

Belgium’s Amenra, headlining Thursday, is one of half a dozen international bands performing alongside Friday and Saturday headliners, Forbidden and Weekend Nachos, as well as locals like Seattle’s Undulation, Nox Novacula and Oxygen Destroyer.

From Seattle Times • May 3, 2024

Undulation is the gentlest and most ideal of motions, produced by one fluid falling on another.

From A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers by Thoreau, Henry David

An Experiment of making an Undulation of the Rays by the mixing of Liquors of differing density.

From Micrographia Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses with Observations and Inquiries Thereupon by Hooke, Robert

Undulation theory of light, 224.Unteraar, glacier of, 18, 265, 388.

From The Glaciers of the Alps Being a narrative of excursions and ascents, etc. by Tyndall, John

Let us see how they are accounted for by the Theory of Undulation.

From Six Lectures on Light Delivered In The United States In 1872-1873 by Tyndall, John