to wag a finger
1
5.3
- phrasal verb
- The teacher wagged a finger at the students who were talking during the lesson.
- say, wag a finger
Examples
-
Before Albert introduces Sandal to Rose, he wags a finger in his sister's face.
Fiction book (2002) -
"Don't let Domick pressure you with insidious suggestion," Robinton said, wagging a finger at his colleagues.
Fiction book (1991) -
I was about to start crying when he wagged a finger at me.
Fiction book (2002) -
But instead of scolding and wagging a finger at the banks, the government should seek actual change.
Blog text (26) -
He wags a finger at me.
Fiction book (1992) -
" Watch and see," Frieda said, and she wagged a finger as if to suggest that Gretel still had a whole lot to learn.
Fiction book (1998) -
She wagged a finger at her child when he tried to touch the hot stove.
-
After catching the dog chewing on the furniture, he wagged a finger in disapproval.
Synonyms
284
1.9
Move your head from side to side to show you do not agree
To move your eyes away from someone to show you are annoyed or do not believe them
To move your hand to show you do not care
To make a short sound to show annoyance or doubt
Antonyms
How Disapproving
- Formal
33
6.1
- Informal
46
4.8
1
5.3
284
1.9
9
4.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The core meaning — moving a finger back and forth — is directly and transparently built from 'wag' (to move repeatedly) plus 'finger' (a digit); the indefinite article is semantically neutral. The pragmatic sense of admonishment or disapproval is a conventional gestureual extension that learners can reasonably infer from the physical action, and similar finger-wagging admonitions exist across many languages, making the expression predictable for a B1 learner.
Etymology
Wag a finger comes from the simple picture of a person moving a finger side to side; to wag means to move it that way, and adults often did this to tell a child 'no' or to scold them. So, wag a finger means 'to show disapproval' or 'to warn'.