Meanings
present singular third person brandishes · participle present brandishing · participle past brandished · past brandished
- transitiveTo move or swing a weapon back and forth, particularly if demonstrating anger, threat or skill.
He brandished his sword at the pirates.
3 more examples
Hvng be yͤ heauens vvith black, yield day to night; / Comets importing change of Times and States, / Brandiſh your cryſtall Treſſes in the Skie, / And vvith them ſcourge the bad reuolting Stars, / That haue conſented vnto Henries Death: / King Henry the Fift, too famous to liue long, / England ne're loſt a King of ſo much vvorth.
1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 96, column 1the quivering lance which he brandished bright
1819, Joseph Rodman Drake, The Culprit FayBack, he spurred like a madman, shouting a curse to the sky, / With the white road smoking behind him, and his rapier brandished high! / Blood-red were his spurs i' the golden noon; wine-red was his velvet coat; […]
1906 August, Alfred Noyes, “The Highwayman”, in Poems, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., published October 1906, →OCLC, part 2, stanza IX, page 53 - transitiveTo bear something with ostentatious show.
to brandish syllogisms
2 more examples
Long, however, the young ſpark did not remain, before, giving it [his penis] two or three ſhakes, by way of brandiſhing it, he threw himſelf upon her, […]
Fanny Hill
1749, [John Cleland], “[Letter the First]”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], volume I, London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC, page 66It sets the stage for cutting corners in our principles just so we can brandish a perceived badge of stature.
2011, Jejomar C. Binay, Binay: Blame corruption on modern consumerism, Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation, http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/315850/binay-blame-corruption-modern-consumerism
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Germanic*brandaz“fire; flame; sword”
- Frankish*brand“firebrand; sword”
- Frankish*brandijan
- Old Frenchbrandiss-
- Middle Englishbraundischen
- Englishbrandish
From Middle English braundischen, from Old French brandiss-, stem of brandir (“to flourish a sword”), from Frankish *brandijan, from Frankish *brand (“firebrand; sword”), from Proto-Germanic *brandaz (“fire; flame; sword”), whence Old English brand (“firebrand; torch”); equivalent to brand + -ish. More at brand.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Frankish
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek πάλλω, πάλλω
- πάλλω (pállō)to move a weapon
- πάλλω (pállō)to bear something with ostentatious show
Bulgarian размахвам заплашително
- размахвам заплашително (razmahvam zaplašitelno)to move a weapon
Catalan brandar, brandejar
- brandarto move a weapon
- brandejarto move a weapon
Chinese Mandarin 揮舞 /挥舞, 揮 /挥
- 揮舞 /挥舞 (huīwǔ)to move a weapon
- 揮 /挥 (huī)to move a weapon
Czech mávat
- mávatto move a weapon
Danish svinge
- svingeto move a weapon
Dutch zwaaien
- zwaaiento move a weapon
Esperanto svingi
- svingito move a weapon
Finnish heiluttaa, heristää
- heiluttaato move a weapon
- heristääto move a weapon
French brandir
- brandirto move a weapon
German schwingen, schwenken
- schwingento move a weapon
- schwenkento move a weapon
- hantierento move a weapon
- führento move a weapon
- vorzeigento bear something with ostentatious show
- ausstellento bear something with ostentatious show
- vorführento bear something with ostentatious show
- herzeigento bear something with ostentatious show
Greek κραδαίνω
- κραδαίνω (kradaíno)to move a weapon
Icelandic bregða, sveifla
- bregðato move a weapon
- sveiflato move a weapon
Irish bagair
- bagairto move a weapon
Japanese 振り回す, 閃かす
- 振り回す (furimawasu)to move a weapon
- 閃かす (hiramekasu)to move a weapon
Korean 휘두르다
- 휘두르다 (hwidureuda)to move a weapon
Latin vibrō
- vibrōto move a weapon
Māori whakakakapa, tōwhiri
- whakakakapato move a weapon
- tōwhirito move a weapon
- tōwhiriwhirito move a weapon
- whakahanato move a weapon
- whīoioito move a weapon
- pīoioito move a weapon
- whakaoraorato bear something with ostentatious show
Norwegian Bokmål svinge
- svingeto move a weapon
Polish wymachiwać, obnosić się
- wymachiwaćto move a weapon
- obnosić sięto bear something with ostentatious show
Portuguese brandir
- brandirto move a weapon
Romanian flutura, a învârti (sabia)
- fluturato move a weapon
- a învârti (sabia)to move a weapon
Russian маха́ть, разма́хивать
- маха́ть (maxátʹ)to move a weapon
- разма́хивать (razmáxivatʹ)to move a weapon
- потряса́ть (potrjasátʹ)to move a weapon
- хва́статься (xvástatʹsja)to bear something with ostentatious show
- выставля́ть напока́з (vystavljátʹ napokáz)to bear something with ostentatious show
Scottish Gaelic crath
- crathto move a weapon
Spanish esgrimir, blandir
- esgrimirto move a weapon
- blandirto move a weapon
Swedish svinga, hötta
- svingato move a weapon
- höttato move a weapon
- hyttato move a weapon
Ukrainian маха́ти, розма́хувати
- маха́ти (maxáty)to move a weapon
- розма́хувати (rozmáxuvaty)to move a weapon
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with brandish
All rhymes →Cite this entry
brandish. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brandish
“brandish.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brandish. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “brandish,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brandish.
Source: brandish on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.