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to willow

to willow

1 7.8
To sway gently back and forth like thin branches in the wind
  • verb
  • /ˈwɪloʊ/
: mecerse
  • The dancers willowed to the rhythm of the music, their movements fluid and graceful.

Examples

  • Willow away, willow away.

  • "The scheiss gun has been willowed and boundered," Schott told him an hour later.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • For instance, the name Akhrab means scorpion, Midri means willowing fork and Berea means innocent.

  • Scrub willows down along the streams, a few orchards of wind-dwarfed, straggling apples.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • ♪ We will willow it away ♪ ♪ With a willow willow willow willow ♪ ♪ We will willow it away ♪ ♪ With a willow willow wailey ♪ ♪ We will sing about it gaily ♪ ♪ With a willow willow wailey ♪ ♪ And a hey, nonny, ♪ No!

  • ♪ We will willow it away ♪ ♪ With a willow willow willow willow ♪ ♪ We will willow it away ♪ ♪ With a willow willow wailey ♪ ♪ We will sing about it gaily ♪ ♪ With a willow willow wailey ♪ ♪ And a hey, nonny, ♪ No!

  • The branches of the willow willow gracefully in the gentle breeze.

  • As the child played, the tall trees began to willow softly in the wind.

Synonyms

to flutter
vsto willow
52 3.5

To move quickly and lightly back and forth, like wings or leaves

is slower and more gentle back and forth branch motion
to swail
vsto willow
  • UK
9.9

To move gently because of wind, like tall grass

is specifically about slow back and forth branch movement in the wind

Antonyms

276 1.6

Stop moving suddenly because of fear or surprise

34 3.7

To make or become hard and less able to bend

Idioms

willow in the wind
  • Literature
1 9.0

A person who moves or behaves in a smooth, flexible way like a dancer

6.9

To be flexible and change to deal with difficult situations

Able to bend and change without breaking

Compounds

5 1.4

A tree with long, thin branches and narrow leaves that often grows near water

A tree with long hanging branches and thin leaves that often grows near water

2 4.2

A small tree or bush with soft furry buds that appear before the leaves

1 5.6

A large tree with silvery leaves and grey bark that grows near water

1 7.0

A medium to large tree with long narrow leaves like a willow and strong wood

1 7.7

A type of willow with reddish stems and flexible branches used for making baskets

1 8.4

A small tree that grows in dry places and has long narrow leaves and purple flowers

1 6.4

A North American tree with dark bark and narrow leaves that grows near streams and lakes

1 9.1

A willow tree with many branches, broad leaves, and soft silvery flower clusters that grows in Europe and Asia

dwarf willow
  • Specialized
1 7.3

A very small willow plant that grows low on cold mountains and in Arctic places

A tree with long flexible branches used for weaving baskets

1 6.9

A small tree or shrub with narrow leaves that grows near lakes and rivers

1 7.2

A willow tree with shiny tough leaves that grows in wet places

bush willow
  • South African
1 9.6

A small tree from South Africa with yellow flowers that grows near streams

1 8.1

A North American willow tree with soft shiny leaves that grows near water

A willow with long flexible twigs used for making baskets

1 8.0

A low spreading bush that grows in the Arctic

A group of trees and shrubs like willows and poplars that often have hairy flower clusters

1 7.6

A small bushy tree with whitish woolly twigs that grows in wet places

1 9.5

A North American shrub with long narrow light gray or white leaves

prairie willow
  • Specialized
1 8.5

A small willow bush that grows in dry prairie areas

A tree with grey leaves and bright yellow twigs used for making baskets

1 8.2

A large tree with stiff branches that break easily, often growing by rivers

A willow tree with shiny, thick leaves often found near water

1 9.3

A willow tree with long narrow leaves like a peach tree

1 9.6

A shrub with whitish gray leaves that grows near rivers in North America

1 6.8

A small shrub with long low branches and soft green leaves that spreads across ground and is used in gardens

1 9.4

A small tree or shrub that grows beside streams in the western United States

1 6.8

A small willow shrub that grows along wet riverbanks in western North America

1 9.4

A flowering plant with narrow willow-like leaves and pale violet flowers

bearberry willow
  • Specialized
9.9

A low shrub that forms a mat on the ground with small green leaves in cold mountain and Arctic areas

A large willow tree with thin branches that break easily

A tree with grey leaves whose wood is used to make cricket bats

dwarf gray willow
  • Specialized
9.6

A small willow bush in the eastern United States with long narrow leaves that are gray and hairy underneath

almond willow
  • Specialized
9.5

A willow tree with light green leaves used for making baskets

almond-leaves willow
  • Specialized
9.9

A willow tree that grows in the western United States with leaves shaped like almonds

8.8

A small bushy tree with shiny leaves that give a balsam smell when crushed

A tree with long drooping branches and thin leaves often planted near ponds for shade

A tree with many branches and long flower clusters used in flower arrangements

7.9

A tree with long flexible twigs used for making baskets

A large willow tree with silvery leaves and grey bark often grown in parks

7.7

A tree with reddish-purple twigs used for making baskets and leather

A tree with long, narrow leaves like a peach tree that grows near rivers

shining willow
  • Specialized
6.3

A small tree or shrub with shiny long leaves that grows near water

7.0

A North American tree with soft grey leaves that turn dark when dry

8.6

A large willow tree with stiff branches that break easily

9.9

A plant with small blue or white bell-shaped flowers that lives for many years

A blue and white china pattern showing a willow tree, river, and small houses

7.7

A kind of willow tree that often grows upright rather than with hanging branches

How Forceful

to thrash
34 5.8
swing
19 1.0
to sway
80 2.4
to willow
1 7.8
to flutter
52 3.5
tremble
6 2.7
to quiver
50 4.5

Surface Forms

willow infinitive
willowed past
willowed past participle
willowing present participle
willows third person singular

Etymology

Willow as a verb comes from the tree willow, so to 'willow' is to move or 'sway' gently like the tree's long branches; that's why the verb means to bend or wave softly in the wind.