dangling
Suspended and swaying
Dangling describes something hanging loosely or swinging freely, attached at one point but not secured at the other: dangling earrings, legs dangling over the edge.
Extended uses suggest incompleteness or being left unresolved: a dangling conversation, dangling threads in the plot.
In grammar, a dangling modifier is a phrase that doesn't clearly connect to what it's meant to describe: "Walking to the store, the rain started" leaves the modifier dangling.
Halted or hanging temporarily
- swingingMoving in arcs
- pendantSuspended jewelry ornament
- droopingHanging or bending downward
- trailingFollowing behind something
swaying · loose · draped · pendulous · oscillating · bobbing · flapping · limp
Not yet complete
- incompleteLacking necessary parts
- open-endedLacking fixed boundaries
- unsettledNot yet resolved
- pendingAwaiting resolution or decision
uncertain · ambiguous · inconclusive · unresolved · tentative · indeterminate · undecided · lingering
Unstably balanced, nearly falling
- unstableProne to sudden change
- perilousFraught with danger
- riskyInvolving possible harm
- insecureLacking self-assurance
wobbly · shaky · tenuous · hazardous · treacherous · touch-and-go · dicey · cliffhanger
suspended
Halted or hanging temporarily
trailing · swaying · loose · draped · pendulous · oscillating · bobbing · flapping · limp · slack
unfinished
Not yet complete
- incompleteLacking necessary parts
- open-endedLacking fixed boundaries
- unsettledNot yet resolved
pending · uncertain · ambiguous · inconclusive · unresolved · tentative · indeterminate · undecided · lingering · outstanding
teetering
Unstably balanced, nearly falling
insecure · wobbly · shaky · tenuous · hazardous · treacherous · touch-and-go · dicey · cliffhanger · fraught
overhanging
Extending outward above
overhead · elevated · perched · hovering · above · jutting · projecting · protruding · extending · cantilevered
- body positionslying down, flat, upright, standing, sitting
- hanging thingspendant light, wind chime, dreamcatcher, pinata, mobile
- Precariousnessprecarious, unstable, teetering, tottering, wobbly
- puppet traitsstrings, jointed, wooden, fabric, hand-operated
- suspended thingsfloating, hovering, swinging, levitation, midair
- incompleteincomplete, unfinished, partial, fragmentary, half-done
danglingsteady
Fixed, not fluctuating
steadily · still · motionless · stationary · stable
- dangling modifierPhrase with unclear referent
- dangling carrot
- dangling participleModifier lacking proper subject
- dangling pointerInvalid memory address holder