Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- transitive v. To wave or flourish (a weapon, for example) menacingly.
- transitive v. To display ostentatiously. See Synonyms at flourish.
- n. A menacing or defiant wave or flourish.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- v. To move or swing a weapon back and forth, particularly if demonstrating skill.
- v. To bear something with ostentatious show.
- n. The act of flourishing or waving.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- transitive v. To move or wave, as a weapon; to raise and move in various directions; to shake or flourish.
- transitive v. To play with; to flourish.
- n. A flourish, as with a weapon, whip, etc.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To move or wave, as a weapon; raise and move in various directions; shake or flourish about: as, to brandish a sword or a cane.
- Figuratively, to play with; flourish: as, “to brandish syllogisms,”
- To move with a flourish; toss.
- n. A shake or flourish, as of a weapon.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- v. move or swing back and forth
- n. the act of waving
- v. exhibit aggressively
Etymologies
Examples
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In a deadly error of judgement, Dziekanski grabbed a stapler (which, in another lapse of police procedure, was not recovered from the scene) and held it up to his chest -- he didn't "brandish" it or "wave" it -- in what could well have been an instinctive defensive move.
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Now his is not going to "brandish" it, just have it out in plain site, in his hand, ready to use.
Obama Volunteer On Scene Disputes Fox News' Suggestions That Black Panthers Are Intimidating Voters
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Only it having been always accounted a very rational and allowed way, to judge what may be by what has been, you may remember that about forty years since this word popery served such as brandish it about the ears of the government now, as an effectual engine to pull down the monarchy to the ground, to destroy episcopacy root and branch, and to rob the church, and almost all honest men, to the last farthing.
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'brandish' of Fielding's Constitutional pen, on October 26, 1748, his oaths had been received as a Justice of the Peace for Westminster.
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If a product is going to brandish a “Made in USA” label, however, one requirement is that at least 75 percent of its manufacturing cost be incurred in the USA.
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Brown was always going to brandish their budget before Republicans as an example of what might end up being the product -- with none of the various fiscal and regulatory reforms they supposedly want more on the "supposed" part in a moment -- as part of his late stage negotiations with them.
William Bradley: Jerry Brown's Big Budget Veto, and Where It Goes From Here
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While riding the bus a couple of days ago, I watched an older lady brandish a copy of the current Willamette Week and say, to another lady across the aisle: Look!
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They rap about rape mostly the rape of white girls, sometimes the rape of corpses and other various acts of violence, they brandish the swastika and call themselves Black Nazis, and there's no lack of homophobia in their songs.
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You want to party and brandish weapons on the anniversary?
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Brett, do you really believe the Ninth Amendment secures your right to brandish a firearm if the tax authorities are coming up your walk to collect an unjust tax, or if the tax assessor wrongly overvalues your property?
yarb commented on the word brandish
Perhaps they were arrested for impersonating activists?
November 7, 2009
bilby commented on the word brandish
"During the G-20 summit in the Pittsburgh area last week, police arrested two activists. These particular activists weren’t breaking windows. They weren’t setting cars on fire. They weren’t even parading around brandishing giant puppets and chanting anti-capitalist slogans."
- Thomas Knapp, The Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted…, c4ss.org, 5 Oct 2009.
November 6, 2009