Wag vs. Wave — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Urooj Arif — Updated on May 7, 2024
Wag means to move side-to-side quickly, often describing an animal's tail or shaking a finger, while wave refers to moving back and forth or up and down in a fluid, undulating motion, like a greeting or the ocean.
Difference Between Wag and Wave
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Key Differences
Wag describes a quick, repetitive, side-to-side motion, often referring to an excited dog’s tail or as a gesture like shaking a finger. On the other hand, wave involves a smoother, rhythmic motion like the rolling of water or hand gestures used for greeting.
Wagging typically indicates quick energy, especially associated with excitement or reprimand, while waving is gentler and often used for signaling, such as saying hello or directing someone.
Wagging is usually done side-to-side with controlled, repetitive motion, while waving can encompass a broader range of movements and directions, such as up and down or circular.
Wag often involves short, sharp movements, whereas waving is more continuous and fluid, extending over a longer range.
Comparison Chart
Definition
Quick side-to-side movement
Fluid, undulating back-and-forth motion
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Common Associations
Dog tails, fingers
Water waves, hand signals
Motion Type
Sharp, repetitive, controlled
Smooth, rhythmic, undulating
Direction
Side-to-side
Varies (sideways, up and down, circular)
Emotional Context
Excitement, reprimand
Greeting, signaling, energy
Compare with Definitions
Wag
To move something quickly from side to side.
The happy dog began to wag its tail.
Wave
To gesture as a signal or greeting.
He waved to signal the bus to stop.
Wag
To gesture by shaking or moving repeatedly.
He wagged his finger at the child as a warning.
Wave
A rolling motion that passes through a medium like water or sound.
The wave passed through the sea after the storm.
Wag
To express an opinion lightly or carelessly.
He wagged about the new policies without knowing much.
Wave
A collective movement of people or ideas.
There was a wave of excitement during the concert.
Wag
To move a body part rhythmically, usually with excitement.
The cat wagged its tail playfully.
Wave
To move smoothly back and forth or up and down.
She waved her hand in greeting.
Wag
To joke or jest in a playful manner.
The comedian likes to wag with the audience.
Wave
To swing or cause to float or flutter.
The flag waved in the wind.
Wag
(especially with reference to an animal's tail) move or cause to move rapidly to and fro
His tail began to wag
The dog went out, wagging its tail
Wave
In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities, sometimes as described by a wave equation. In physical waves, at least two field quantities in the wave medium are involved.
Wag
Play truant from (school).
Wave
Move one's hand to and fro in greeting or as a signal
He waved to me from the train
Wag
A wife or girlfriend of a sports player, typically characterized as having a high media profile and a glamorous lifestyle.
Wave
Move to and fro with a swaying motion while remaining fixed to one point
The flag waved in the wind
Wag
To move briskly and repeatedly from side to side, to and fro, or up and down
The dog's tail wagged.
Wave
Style (hair) so that it curls slightly
Her hair had been carefully waved for the evening
Wag
To move rapidly in talking. Used of the tongue.
Wave
A long body of water curling into an arched form and breaking on the shore
He was swept out to sea by a freak wave
Wag
(Archaic) To be on one's way; depart.
Wave
A sudden occurrence of or increase in a phenomenon, feeling, or emotion
Fear came over me in waves
A wave of strikes had paralysed the government
Wag
To move (a body part) rapidly from side to side or up and down, as in playfulness, agreement, or admonition
Wagged his finger at the giggling students.
Wave
A gesture or signal made by moving one's hand to and fro
He gave a little wave and walked off
Wag
The act or motion of wagging
A farewell wag of the hand.
Wave
A slightly curling lock of hair
His hair was drying in unruly waves
Wag
A humorous or droll person; a wit.
Wave
A periodic disturbance of the particles of a substance which may be propagated without net movement of the particles, such as in the passage of undulating motion, heat, or sound.
Wag
To swing from side to side, such as of an animal's tail, or someone's head, to express disagreement or disbelief.
Wave
A member of the women's reserve of the US Navy, organized during World War II, but now no longer a separate branch.
Wag
To play truant from school.
Wave
A ridge or swell moving through or along the surface of a large body of water.
Wag
(obsolete) To be in action or motion; to move; progress.
Wave
A small ridge or swell moving across the interface of two fluids and dependent on surface tension.
Wag
(obsolete) To go; to depart.
Wave
Often waves The sea
Vanished beneath the waves.
Wag
An oscillating movement.
The wag of my dog's tail expresses happiness.
Wave
A moving curve or succession of curves in or on a surface; an undulation
Waves of wheat in the wind.
Wag
A witty person.
Wave
A curve or succession of curves, as in the hair.
Wag
To move one way and the other with quick turns; to shake to and fro; to move vibratingly; to cause to vibrate, as a part of the body; as, to wag the head.
No discerner durst wag his tongue in censure.
Every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head.
Wave
A curved shape, outline, or pattern.
Wag
To move one way and the other; to be shaken to and fro; to vibrate.
The resty sieve wagged ne'er the more.
Wave
A movement up and down or back and forth
A wave of the hand.
Wag
To be in action or motion; to move; to get along; to progress; to stir.
"Thus we may see," quoth he, "how the world wags."
Wave
A surge or rush, as of sensation
A wave of nausea.
A wave of indignation.
Wag
To go; to depart; to pack oft.
I will provoke him to 't, or let him wag.
Wave
A sudden great rise, as in activity or intensity
A wave of panic selling on the stock market.
Wag
The act of wagging; a shake; as, a wag of the head.
Wave
A rising trend that involves large numbers of individuals
A wave of conservatism.
Wag
A man full of sport and humor; a ludicrous fellow; a humorist; a wit; a joker.
We wink at wags when they offend.
A counselor never pleaded without a piece of pack thread in his hand, which he used to twist about a finger all the while he was speaking; the wags used to call it the thread of his discourse.
Wave
One of a succession of mass movements
The first wave of settlers.
Wag
A witty amusing person who makes jokes
Wave
A maneuver in which fans at a sports event simulate an ocean wave by rising quickly in sequence with arms upraised and then quickly sitting down again in a continuous rolling motion.
Wag
Causing to move repeatedly from side to side
Wave
A widespread, persistent meteorological condition, especially of temperature
A heat wave.
Wag
Move from side to side;
The happy dog wagged his tail
Wave
A disturbance that travels through a medium. Energy is transferred by a wave from one region of the medium to another without causing any permanent displacement of the medium.
Wave
A graphic representation of the variation of such a disturbance with time.
Wave
A single cycle of a periodic wave.
Wave
To move freely back and forth or up and down in the air, as branches in the wind.
Wave
To make a signal with an up-and-down or back-and-forth movement of the hand or an object held in the hand
Waved as she drove by.
Wave
To have an undulating or wavy form; curve or curl
Her hair waves naturally.
Wave
To cause to move back and forth or up and down, either once or repeatedly
She waved a fan before her face.
Wave
To move or swing as in giving a signal
He waved his hand.
Wave
To signal or express by waving the hand or an object held in the hand
We waved goodbye.
Wave
To signal (a person) by using the hand to move in a specified direction
The police officer waved the motorist into the right lane.
Wave
To arrange into curves, curls, or undulations
Wave one's hair.
Wave
(intransitive) To move back and forth repeatedly and somewhat loosely.
The flag waved in the gentle breeze.
Wave
(intransitive) To move one’s hand back and forth (generally above the shoulders) in greeting or departure.
Wave
To call attention to, or give a direction or command to, by a waving motion, as of the hand; to signify by waving; to beckon; to signal; to indicate.
I waved goodbye from across the room.
Wave
(intransitive) To have an undulating or wavy form.
Wave
(transitive) To raise into inequalities of surface; to give an undulating form or surface to.
Wave
(transitive) To produce waves to the hair.
Wave
To swing and miss at a pitch.
Jones waves at strike one.
Wave
(transitive) To cause to move back and forth repeatedly.
The starter waved the flag to begin the race.
Wave
To signal (someone or something) with a waving movement.
Wave
To fluctuate; to waver; to be in an unsettled state.
Wave
To move like a wave, or by floating; to waft.
Wave
To generate a wave.
Wave
Obsolete spelling of waive
Wave
A moving disturbance in the level of a body of liquid; an undulation.
The wave traveled from the center of the lake before breaking on the shore.
Wave
(poetic) The ocean.
Wave
(physics) A moving disturbance in the energy level of a field.
Gravity waves, while predicted by theory for decades, have been notoriously difficult to detect.
Wave
A shape that alternatingly curves in opposite directions.
Her hair had a nice wave to it.
Sine wave
Wave
Any of a number of species of moths in the geometrid subfamily Sterrhinae, which have wavy markings on the wings.
Wave
A loose back-and-forth movement, as of the hands.
He dismissed her with a wave of the hand.
Wave
(figuratively) A sudden, but temporary, uptick in something.
A wave of shoppers stampeded through the door when the store opened for its Christmas discount special.
A wave of retirees began moving to the coastal area.
A wave of emotion overcame her when she thought about her son who was killed in battle.
Wave
One of the successive swarms of enemies sent to attack the player in certain games.
Wave
(usually "the wave") A group activity in a crowd imitating a wave going through water, where people in successive parts of the crowd stand and stretch upward, then sit.
Wave
See Waive.
Wave
To play loosely; to move like a wave, one way and the other; to float; to flutter; to undulate.
His purple robes waved careless to the winds.
Where the flags of three nations has successively waved.
Wave
To be moved to and fro as a signal.
Wave
To fluctuate; to waver; to be in an unsettled state; to vacillate.
He waved indifferently 'twixt doing them neither good nor harm.
Wave
To move one way and the other; to brandish.
Wave
To raise into inequalities of surface; to give an undulating form a surface to.
Horns whelked and waved like the enridged sea.
Wave
To move like a wave, or by floating; to waft.
Wave
To call attention to, or give a direction or command to, by a waving motion, as of the hand; to signify by waving; to beckon; to signal; to indicate.
Look, with what courteous actionIt waves you to a more removed ground.
She spoke, and bowing wavedDismissal.
Wave
An advancing ridge or swell on the surface of a liquid, as of the sea, resulting from the oscillatory motion of the particles composing it when disturbed by any force their position of rest; an undulation.
The wave behind impels the wave before.
Wave
A vibration propagated from particle to particle through a body or elastic medium, as in the transmission of sound; an assemblage of vibrating molecules in all phases of a vibration, with no phase repeated; a wave of vibration; an undulation. See Undulation.
Wave
Water; a body of water.
Build a ship to save thee from the flood,I 'll furnish thee with fresh wave, bread, and wine.
Wave
Unevenness; inequality of surface.
Wave
A waving or undulating motion; a signal made with the hand, a flag, etc.
Wave
The undulating line or streak of luster on cloth watered, or calendered, or on damask steel.
Wave
Something resembling or likened to a water wave, as in rising unusually high, in being of unusual extent, or in progressive motion; a swelling or excitement, as of feeling or energy; a tide; flood; period of intensity, usual activity, or the like; as, a wave of enthusiasm; waves of applause.
Wave
One of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
Wave
A movement like that of an ocean wave;
A wave of settlers
Troops advancing in waves
Wave
(physics) a movement up and down or back and forth
Wave
Something that rises rapidly;
A wave of emotion swept over him
There was a sudden wave of buying before the market closed
A wave of conservatism in the country led by the hard right
Wave
The act of signaling by a movement of the hand
Wave
A hairdo that creates undulations in the hair
Wave
An undulating curve
Wave
A persistent and widespread unusual weather condition (especially of unusual temperatures)
Wave
A member of the women's reserve of the United States Navy; originally organized during World War II but now no longer a separate branch
Wave
Signal with the hands or nod;
She waved to her friends
He waved his hand hospitably
Wave
Move or swing back and forth;
She waved her gun
Wave
Move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion;
The curtains undulated
The waves rolled towards the beach
Wave
Twist or roll into coils or ringlets;
Curl my hair, please
Wave
Set waves in;
She asked the hairdresser to wave her hair
Common Curiosities
Can wag have a figurative meaning?
Yes, wagging can refer to gossiping or expressing opinions carelessly.
What is commonly wagged besides a tail?
Fingers are often wagged as a gesture of reprimand.
Are waves always gentle?
No, waves can be strong or violent depending on their source.
How does the movement of wag differ from wave?
Wagging is sharp and repetitive, while waving is fluid and continuous.
Can wave describe a group movement?
Yes, "wave" is often used to describe collective actions or trends.
Does wagging imply excitement?
Usually, wagging is associated with positive emotions like excitement, especially in animals.
Do people wave to convey emotions?
Yes, waving is often used to express greeting, excitement, or signaling.
Can wag and wave be used interchangeably?
Not usually. Wagging involves sharp side-to-side motion, while waving is more fluid.
Do waves only refer to water movement?
No, waves can describe sound, hand signals, and even groups of people.
Is wagging always side-to-side?
Yes, wagging typically means side-to-side movement.
Do waves occur only in water bodies?
No, waves can form in various mediums like air, and as sound or light.
Does wagging have a negative connotation?
Not inherently, but wagging a finger can imply scolding or warning.
Can wag describe animal behavior besides a tail?
Yes, other animals also wag body parts like ears.
Is wagging or waving more formal?
Waving is more neutral and can be formal or informal depending on context.
Does wagging imply a specific speed?
Wagging is usually rapid due to its association with excitement or urgency.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
