Meaning

(intransitive) To flap or wave quickly but irregularly..

Definitions by Sense

1. (intransitive) To flap or wave quickly but irregularly.
2. (intransitive) Of a winged animal: to flap the wings without flying; to fly with a light flapping of the wings.
3. (intransitive, aerodynamics) To undergo divergent oscillations (potentially to the point of causing structural failure) due to a positive feedback loop between elastic deformation and aerodynamic forces.
4. (transitive) To cause something to flap.
5. (transitive) To drive into disorder; to throw into confusion.
6. (intransitive) To be in a state of agitation or uncertainty.
7. (intransitive, obsolete) To be frivolous.
8. (espionage, slang) To subject to a lie detector test.

Example Sentences

flags fluttering in the wind

Long after his cigar burnt bitter, he sat with eyes fixed on the blaze. When the flames at last began to flicker and subside, his lids fluttered, then drooped ; but he had lost all reckoning of time when he opened them again to find Miss Erroll in furs and ball-gown kneeling on the hearth and heaping kindling on the coals, [...]

Banks of gorgeous flowers were on every hand, and birds with rare and brilliant plumage sang and fluttered in the trees and bushes.

A bird flutters its wings.

If you haue vvrit your Annales true, 'tis there, / That like an Eagle in a Doue-cote, I / Flatter'd^([sic – meaning Flutter'd]) your Volcians in Corioles.

There was a clearness of expression in this, and a downright surrender of himself, which so flattered her and so fluttered her that she was almost reduced to the giving of herself up because she could not reply to such an appeal in language less courteous than that of agreement

It was fluttering with nervousness like a human heart. He was all in a sweat with fear, and—do you know, I don't believe the rascal is a Robot at all any longer.

This was the first time that Nosenko had been subjected to a lie detector — or what the CIA called fluttering. The Soviet Union did not use such devices for interrogation.

Word Forms

• flutters
• fluttering
• fluttered

Synonyms for flutter

Related Words

When Should You Use Flutter?

Use flutter when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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