HomeServicesBlogDictionariesContactSpanish Course
← Back to search

Meaning of handwave | Babel Free

Noun CEFR B2

Definitions

  1. The wave of a hand.
    literally
  2. A glib statement or explanation that glosses over important details.

Equivalents

Русский отмахну́ться

Examples

“The leader, an upright, broad-shouldered old man, with snow-white hair, half halts his horse with a handwave of salutation, as he reaches the Imperial Crown Prince, then gallops on with the latter hanging close on his flank.”
“"[…]In fact I tell this mob"— he gave a derogatory handwave in the direction of the ten or twelve pairs of eyes that were still intent on us—"that I was the original of these Pappa-whatsits." "Papparazzi."”
“In this glib handwave by Friedman, the real results are determined independently of money and financing phenomena; given the way monetarists set up the analysis, the rate of growth of money can only affect the behavior of the price level.”

CEFR level

B2
Upper Intermediate
This word is part of the CEFR B2 vocabulary — upper intermediate level.

See also

Learn this word in context

See handwave used in real conversations inside our free language course.

Start Free Course