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What is "gesture"

Crossword clues for gesture

gesture
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
gesture
I.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a gesture of friendship (=an action which shows that someone is a friend)
▪ He invited us to his house as a gesture of friendship.
a hand gesture/signal (=a movement of your hand to show what you mean)
▪ He made a rude hand gesture at the other driver.
a symbolic gesture
▪ They fired arrows out to sea in a symbolic gesture of defiance.
a warning gesture
▪ He put his finger to his lips in a warning gesture.
act/gesture of defiance
▪ Running away was an act of defiance against his parents.
conciliatory approach/tone/gesture etc
▪ Perhaps you should adopt a more conciliatory approach.
dismissive gesture/wave/shrug etc
▪ Cath spread both hands in a dismissive gesture.
expansive gesture
▪ She flung her arms out in an expansive gesture.
flamboyant gesture
▪ He lifted his arms in a flamboyant gesture.
goodwill gesture
▪ A fund was set up as a goodwill gesture to survivors and their families.
obscene gesture
▪ Bradford made an obscene gesture.
sign/show/gesture etc of good faith
▪ A ceasefire was declared as a sign of good faith.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
conciliatory
▪ But even that conciliatory gesture never really convinced me that Don Bradman's signature could make up for that of Jack Hobbs.
▪ A conciliatory gesture, some argued, would appease the cardinal and Holy Trinity would live to fight another day.
▪ As a conciliatory gesture, the restaurant was built like a large shack, so as not to be too obtrusive.
▪ Republicans, in a conciliatory gesture, agreed to let the Democrats chair committees during the period.
▪ Pressure on the Shiite community was to continue, despite well-publicized conciliatory gestures.
▪ In 1955, the year of the Geneva summit conference, there were conciliatory gestures towards nuclear disarmament on both sides.
▪ But the conciliatory gesture itself was significant after the partisan exchanges this summer over policy on asylum and crime.
dismissive
▪ A dismissive gesture but to Ruth one he didn't relish doing very much.
▪ The teacher asks the questions; the pupil supplies the answer; the teacher makes a confirming or dismissive comment or gesture.
dramatic
▪ In a dramatic gesture, Diana pulled out of attending after the split was announced.
▪ The singular initiative of the B.. Dalton chain is a dramatic and important gesture.
▪ He knew, says Menotti a little wryly, that it was time for a dramatic gesture.
▪ It seemed -the least he could do - to deny himself the dramatic gesture, to humiliate himself.
empty
▪ I tried to make choices, but wound up with empty gestures.
▪ Words and empty gestures are not enough!
▪ It was an empty gesture - she knew he wouldn't stay there.
expansive
▪ Theirs was not a relationship of expansive gestures like that.
generous
▪ It was a generous gesture to try to ease the tension and relax a fellow professional.
▪ It was a generous gesture on his part.
▪ We thank him sincerely for his generous gesture in allowing this debate to take place.
▪ Only the weather was ominous - the usual generous gestures of support received from congregation and friends were heartwarming.
▪ No man knew better than he the value of a generous gesture.
▪ Members of the family would be buried there until the 1940s, thanks to William's generous gesture.
▪ The Government is optimistic that Bill Clinton will use the last days of his presidency to make a generous gesture on debt.
grand
▪ Many felt that a grand gesture of statesmanship was required in relation to Northern Ireland.
▪ What a grand gesture for a small cause, I thought.
▪ But if Jacquet de la Guerre was a mistress of the grand gesture, Campra's forte was delicate understatement.
▪ Make the big move, make the grand gesture, do something outrageous.
▪ Grand aims, he wrote, but no grand gestures.
▪ The parties, at the moment, are too intransigent for the grand gesture.
nice
▪ It was a nice gesture to wipe the cup.
▪ She said payment was not necessary but perhaps a gift of twenty-one rupees would be a nice gesture.
▪ Either way I thought it a nice gesture, and when I next caught his eye I smiled.
▪ These were the nice little gestures that went with the setting.
obscene
▪ The present-day Faust smirked over towards the Professor and made an obscene gesture.
▪ The rest are elbows delivered, punches thrown, verbally abusing referees, skipping All-Star media day, obscene gestures, tantrum-throwing.
▪ The long legs parted as the pale blue water took her, like an obscene gesture at Liz.
▪ Maxham held up two fingers in an obscene gesture.
political
▪ But that was largely a political gesture.
▪ This was an important political gesture and it is glossed over here.
▪ The allegation lends too much importance to political gestures and transparently obvious tricks.
small
▪ He was aware of an almost imperceptible withdrawing, more emotional than physical, a small delicate gesture of self-containment.
▪ Handprints in a vast cave carry a tentative quality, a small gesture of presence.
▪ It remained a small, symbolic gesture of anger at the official policy on education.
▪ Occasionally, he would move one of his arms, the small gesture unnerving Leroy from unleashing a good punch.
▪ Lois made a small feathering gesture with her hand and stamped her heel silently.
symbolic
▪ Surely tearing up the Pope's picture was meant as a symbolic gesture, not a personal affront.
▪ The roots of the trouble lie in Republican policies that women see as threatening. Symbolic gestures and tokenism are inadequate remedies.
▪ Last year, in a symbolic gesture, he introduced a 20p tax band.
▪ Such language suggests that the riots were less about forcing material change than about making symbolic gestures.
▪ This symbolic gesture seemed to satisfy them.
▪ But the symbolic gesture is likely to be of dubious long-term value and will depend entirely on the personalities and circumstances involved.
▪ Or, like Parliament Square, will it occupy the terrain of a symbolic gesture, alive in legend?
▪ The union leaders appear to be building public support for their cause, with clever use of symbolic gestures and public relations.
■ NOUN
goodwill
▪ The visit was a goodwill gesture to Raychem, which employs 1,300 people at its sites in Dorcan and Cheney Manor.
▪ If this makes you uneasy, think about distributing a little preemptive baksheesh as a goodwill gesture.
▪ She never repeated the goodwill gesture.
▪ As a goodwill gesture, Pac Bell sent baskets of fruit to competitors welcoming them to the market.
▪ Some training is carried out as a goodwill gesture.
hand
▪ His hand gestures were slightly more generous, but there were no other signs of the wine he had drunk.
▪ But a language, no matter how it is implemented, seems to be a language-even for pictographs or hand gestures.
■ VERB
make
▪ But if airway going to make a gesture, it's best not to do it while airway white-hot.
▪ Fong squatted on the floor, his back straight, his small hands raised, making quick gestures as he spoke.
▪ She went to lean against the wall - he made a vehement negative gesture - she staggered forward again.
▪ He made a sweeping gesture at the microphones, cameras and reporters.
▪ The choreographer's problem is how to make subtle or vigorous gesture visible to those on the other side of the footlights.
▪ The Government is optimistic that Bill Clinton will use the last days of his presidency to make a generous gesture on debt.
▪ Here they make suitably valedictory gestures, by John Tenniel, October 1886.
▪ Moran made no gesture, did not even look around him.
use
▪ Narrative dance applies to those phrases of conversation between individuals or between dancers and public, where the dancer uses explicit gestures.
▪ Unfolding my wretched map, I used gestures to ask them to indicate our location.
▪ In ritual usage, the manipulation and playing of the damaru must be carried out using precisely ordained gestures.
▪ After he learns to use his behaviors and gestures to let you know what he wants, he starts using ideas.
▪ He made signs with his hands and fingers and Corbett watched fascinated as Benstede replied using identical gestures.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
empty words/gestures/promises etc
▪ Hadn't he said that to express it would be just empty words?
▪ He expected her to trust him, but as far as she could see they were just empty words.
▪ He listens politely, then makes plausible but essentially empty gestures.
▪ I tried to make choices, but wound up with empty gestures.
▪ These are not empty words and phrases, but principles given powerful institutional sanction.
▪ This is the circus of empty promises and dry press releases that are part and parcel of meetings like these.
▪ To all these petitions the Crown returned empty promises of redress.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Someone in another car started making gestures and pointing at our tires.
▪ The fight started when one of the fans made a rude gesture at a player.
▪ The flowers were really a nice gesture.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Her gestures were emphatic but, from a distance, did not appear threatening or abusive.
▪ Instead, he patted the man's arm once in a gesture of thanks.
▪ It was one of their gestures, he supposed.
▪ Mrs Bay was speaking loudly, flailing her arms in wild gestures.
▪ The visit was a goodwill gesture to Raychem, which employs 1,300 people at its sites in Dorcan and Cheney Manor.
▪ These relatively complex communicative demands establish the conditions in which simple gestures, such as pointing, are particularly useful.
▪ Words take second place to nonverbal cues, personal mannerisms, gestures, expressions, and overall appearance.
II.verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
wildly
▪ Inside, I gestured wildly down to Andre who, while all dressed up, was standing around counting flies.
■ NOUN
door
▪ He gestured abruptly to the door, dismissing the man.
▪ Menzies gestured towards the front door and went through to draw the bolt.
▪ I gestured through the doors, through the glass of which traffic could be seen crossing the Szabadsag Bridge.
hand
▪ I watched his movements, the hands gesturing.
■ VERB
say
▪ Sit down in the chair, Blue, says Black, gesturing with the gun to the wooden desk chair.
▪ A bridge is a connection between two points, Peabody said gesturing with index fingers.
▪ Nelson said, gesturing to the pay phone on the corner.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ "Please sit down," said Winters, gesturing at the chair facing his own.
▪ Celia began listing their recent purchases and gestured proudly to the fountain.
▪ I turned to see a large policeman gesturing for us to move along.
▪ The man was gesturing wildly, but we couldn't understand what he wanted.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Auster opened the door wider and gestured for Quinn to enter the apartment.
▪ He gestured toward her sister, toward the right, toward life.
▪ He answered, and she pushed the door wide, and gestured him in after her.
▪ I watched his movements, the hands gesturing.
▪ Members of the Illinois delegation jumped up and began gesturing for McGovern to get off the platform, making thumbs-down motions.
▪ Paul gestured towards the biggest muntjac suspended from the carrying pole and made an elaborate gesture of donation.
▪ Sorrow warred with anger in his voice, and he gestured briskly with his muscular hands.
▪ Their voices were faint at this distance, but they could be seen gesturing towards the company.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Gesture

Gesture \Ges"ture\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gestured; p. pr. & vb. n. Gesturing.] To accompany or illustrate with gesture or action; to gesticulate.

It is not orderly read, nor gestured as beseemeth.
--Hooker.

Gesture

Gesture \Ges"ture\, v. i. To make gestures; to gesticulate.

The players . . . gestured not undecently withal.
--Holland.

Gesture

Gesture \Ges"ture\, n. [LL. gestura mode of action, fr. L. gerere, gestum, to bear, behave, perform, act. See Gest a deed.]

  1. Manner of carrying the body; position of the body or limbs; posture. [Obs.]

    Accubation, or lying down at meals, was a gesture used by many nations.
    --Sir T. Browne.

  2. A motion of the body or limbs expressive of sentiment or passion; any action or posture intended to express an idea or a passion, or to enforce or emphasize an argument, assertion, or opinion.

    Humble and reverent gestures.
    --Hooker.

    Grace was in all her steps, heaven in her eye, In every gesture dignity and love.
    --Milton.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
gesture

early 15c., "manner of carrying the body," from Medieval Latin gestura "bearing, behavior," from Latin gestus "gesture, carriage, posture" (see gest). Restricted sense of "a movement of the body or a part of it" is from 1550s; figurative sense of "action undertaken in good will to express feeling" is from 1916.

gesture

1540s, from gesture (n.). Related: Gestured; gesturing.

Wiktionary
gesture

n. 1 A motion of the limbs or body, especially one made to emphasize speech. 2 An act or a remark made as a formality or as a sign of attitude. 3 (context obsolete English) The manner of carrying the body; position of the body or limbs; posture. vb. 1 (context intransitive English) To make a gesture or gestures. 2 (context transitive English) To express something by a gesture or gestures. 3 (context transitive English) To accompany or illustrate with gesture or action.

Related phrases:
WordNet
gesture

  1. n. motion of hands or body to emphasize or help to express a thought or feeling

  2. the use of movements (especially of the hands) to communicate familiar or prearranged signals [syn: motion]

  3. something done as an indication of intention; "a political gesture"; "a gesture of defiance"

  4. v. show, express or direct through movement; "He gestured his desire to leave" [syn: gesticulate, motion]

Related phrases:
Wikipedia
Gesture

A gesture is a form of non-verbal communication or non-vocal communication in which visible bodily actions communicate particular messages, either in place of, or in conjunction with, speech. Gestures include movement of the hands, face, or other parts of the body. Gestures differ from physical non-verbal communication that does not communicate specific messages, such as purely expressive displays, proxemics, or displays of joint attention. Gestures allow individuals to communicate a variety of feelings and thoughts, from contempt and hostility to approval and affection, often together with body language in addition to words when they speak.

Gesture processing takes place in areas of the brain such as Broca's and Wernicke's areas, which are used by speech and sign language. In fact, language is thought by some scholars to have evolved in Homo sapiens from an earlier system consisting of manual gestures. The theory that language evolved from manual gestures, termed Gestural Theory, dates back to the work of 18th-century philosopher and priest Abbé de Condillac, and has been revived by contemporary anthropologist Gordon W. Hewes, in 1973, as part of a discussion on the origin of language.

Gesture (disambiguation)

A gesture is a body movement that conveys some meaning.

It may refer also to:

  • Gesture (music)
  • Gesture recognition in computing
  • The Gestures
  • Gestures (album)
  • Pointing device gesture, an interaction with a computer interface using a pointing device or finger
Related phrases:

Usage examples of "gesture".

In response to his gesture, eyes now fully formed and ablaze, the two clouds of sooty vapor that had been hovering impatiently by his steel-booted feet ballooned to the size of black buffalo as they sped gleefully away from the dais to intercept the impudent, foolhardy human.

The chief gestured to Sarapul and Abo gave the smoke to the old cannibal.

Cofort rose and made to follow, her graceful form showing no sign of the high acceleration, but when she paused to glance back, Jellico gave in to impulse and stayed her with a gesture.

He flourished his wrist for just a moment, and Rani ducked her chin, acknowledging the gesture.

Mishima warned him to touch nothing, and Aiken gave him a reassuring gesture.

With a stern gesture, the wizard firmly indicated that Alec should not repeat the gesture.

I offered the flechette pistol to Alem but he gestured for me to keep it and showed me how to tuck it in one of the multiple sashes of the long, crimson robe.

They heaved in a great, tangled mass, thrusting, licking, panting, writhing, biting, while a crowd gathered on the sidewalk beneath the building, gesturing upward toward the ludicrous alfresco scene.

He said that he had traveled all over the world when he was young and that he had studied opera in Milan and in Buenos Aires and as they rolled through the countryside he sang arias and gestured with great vigor.

She gestured to the right, to where the rest of the Ama fleet was spread out over the ocean.

Accustomed to reading nuances of speech and slight gestures of body language in order to survive with Amalgamated, Judit had picked up far more from that brief, inconclusive meeting than Viggers had actually said.

Saint stood unflinchingly, Amity clinging aghast to his arm, Warlock lifted the record and went through the dramatic gesture of smashing it against the corner of the phonograph.

If the anointing of Jesus had been a frivolous or meaningless gesture it would never have been recorded at all.

While Fastrada was glaring at Lady Adalhaid, and the other ladies-in-waiting were huddled together as if they feared the queens displeasure would be visited on them, Lady Ansa made a quick, surreptitious gesture, pointing to a pile of green and blue pillows.

Japanese woman on a bare stage, gesturing in the stylized manner of Noh drama, and it ends seventy-five minutes later with a naked man, emaciated and aphasic, trying desperately to tell us something.