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Glite Dictionary
to dangle

to dangle

135 2.3
Hang loosely so it can move or swing
  • verb
  • /ˈdæŋɡəl/
translation icon : colgar
  • Her wristwatch and the money dangling from her lips are modern signs of wealth.
  • legs dangled
  • dangle down
  • dangle from the side

So you can see the matchbox dangling and our glass vase dangling.

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Examples

  • The prospect is just dangling there, and we ought to seize it," Campbell says.

    Academic text (1998)

  • On the stage below, the rat dangled, legs waving slowly, from the cat's jaws.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Just let it dangle below the picture.

    Animal Factory (2000)

  • I want these to be kind of dangling out the front, help the sides.

  • So here we are dangling it around a bit seems pretty secure.

  • It's the two days of skiing we dangled in front of them.

    Of Things Past (2023)

  • No note, no money, nothing but the car with the keys dangling from the ignition.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Her colleague, the fellow with the recording equipment dangling on his shoulders, went up with the Skipper.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • It was a single earring, a dangling crucifix.

    Blood Work (2002)

  • The keys were dangleing from her fingertips as she walked.

Synonyms

to hang
vsto dangle
507 2.0

To fall loosely, like cloth or hair

means loose suspension that usually includes free swinging
to swing
vsto dangle
408 1.0

Move back and forth while hanging from one point

describes loose hanging that often results in this back and forth movement
to suspend
vsto dangle
64 3.5

To hang something so it can move or swing

focuses on the loose hanging state rather than the deliberate action
to drop
vsto dangle
26 1.0

To hang down loosely from above

implies free swinging movement rather than only downward suspension
to dangle from
vsto dangle
18 3.2

To hang loosely so that something swings from a support

is the shorter base verb form
to pend
vsto dangle
  • Archaic
1 8.4

To hang down from above so it moves freely

emphasizes loose swinging motion rather than simple draping
to swag
vsto dangle
  • Archaic
9.3

To hang down in the middle because of weight

refers to loose swinging movement, not to sagging from weight

Antonyms

to secure
347 3.3

To fasten firmly so it cannot move or be taken

Idioms

to dangle a carrot
  • Informal
1 4.4

Offer a small reward to make someone do something

Phrasal Verbs

to dangle from
18 3.2

To hang loosely so that something swings from a support

Compounds

dangle-berry
  • US
9.9

A small sweet blue berry like a blueberry that grows in woods and bogs

How Loose

to droop
22 3.9
to dangle
135 2.3
to hang
∞ 1.0
to fasten
68 1.6

Surface Forms

dangle infinitive
dangled past
dangled past participle
dangling present participle
dangles third person singular

Etymology

Dangle comes from an older little verb dang meaning 'to hang' or 'swing', plus the small ending -le that makes the action light or repeated. So to dangle is to hang loosely and move a little, like an earring or your feet over a dock.