undulate

Move like water

To undulate is to move in waves or a wavelike pattern—rising and falling, curving and recurving.

Water undulates, as do flags in wind, snakes across sand, and hills across a landscape.

The word works for both literal motion Her hair undulated in the breeze and static forms that suggest it undulating terrain.

Something undulant has this quality.

motion

oscillate

Move rhythmically between extremes

rippleMinor surface disturbance
swayRock back and forth
waveOscillating motion through medium

flutter · flow · surge · ebb · roll · billow · pulse · quiver · serpentine · slither

water

wave

Oscillating motion through medium

swellIncrease in size
rippleMinor surface disturbance
tideOcean's cyclical swell

current · surf · breaker · whitecap · billow · crest · trough · ebb · flow · eddy

fabric

ripple

Minor surface disturbance

drapeHang in folds
flowUnbroken forward movement
billowSwell outward with air

flutter · ruffle · cascade · wave · swirl · pleat · gather · shirr · flounce · ruche

body

belly dance

Torso-focused Middle Eastern movement

hipsLeg-torso joint areas
spineColumn of vertebrae
torsoBody without limbs

serpentine · sinuous · slinky · gyrate · writhe · shimmy · coil · curve · flex · slither

snake

serpentine

Curving in repeated bends

slitherGlide smoothly, sinuously
coilWound circular arrangement
sinuousCurving in flowing turns

sidewind · glide · creep · constrict · writhe · twist · curve · loop · spiral · wind

terrain

hill

Low natural elevation

valleyLow ground between heights
duneWind-formed sand ridge
ridgeNarrow raised strip

contour · rolling · slope · crest · trough · furrow · fold · hollow · knoll · mound

Categories

movementwalk, move, go, run, jump
vivid verbsshimmer, sparkle, gleam, glisten, glitter
fluid movementsflow, glide, sway, ripple, drift
swayingsway, oscillate, rock, swing, wobble
snake movementsslithering, slither, coil, coiling, sidewinding
S-curvessine wave, serpentine, sigmoidal, ogee, reverse curve

Opposites

motion quality

undulatejerk

Abrupt pulling motion

jolt · judder · stutter · lurch · twitch

movement vs. stillness

undulatestay

Remain in position

hold steady · persist · freeze · stand still · stabilize

surface form

undulateflat

Lacking vertical variation

level · plane · smooth · even · horizontal

Phrases

undulating membraneRippling locomotor organelle

Family

undulating, undulation, undulates, undulated, undulations, undulant

Familiarity: Top 200,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated G