dangle — to hang or swing loosely
Part of speech: VERB
Definition: to hang or swing loosely
Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈdæŋɡəl/
Example Sentences
- My earphones always dangle annoyingly when I'm trying to look cool.
- The spider dangled right in front of my face during the video call.
- She dangled the possibility of extra credit to motivate her students.
dangle
VERB[/ˈdæŋɡəl/]
to hang or swing loosely

The kitten watches a toy mouse dangle from a string above.

The web begins to dangle, threads tangle at every angle!
Got the picture? Now let's practice.
🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
From Middle English 'danglen', likely of Scandinavian origin, related to Old Norse 'danga' meaning 'to strike' or 'bump'. The word has been used since the 15th century to describe the motion of something swinging or hanging loosely.
Breakdown
dangle (verb root) - no productive morphemes; the word is a simple verb stem from Scandinavian roots, with the -le ending characteristic of verbs in Middle English indicating repeated or continuous action
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“My earphones always dangle annoyingly when I'm trying to look cool.”
“The spider dangled right in front of my face during the video call.”
“She dangled the possibility of extra credit to motivate her students.”
“The cat's toy mouse dangled temptingly from the string.”
📚Related Words
Synonyms
Antonyms
Related
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