dangled; dangling
ˈdaŋ-g(ə-)liŋ 
1
: to hang loosely and usually so as to be able to swing freely
2
: to be a hanger-on or a dependent
3
: to occur in a sentence without having a normally expected syntactic relation to the rest of the sentence (such as climbing in "Climbing the mountain the cabin came into view")
a dangling participle
a dangling modifier
1
: to cause to dangle : swing
dangled her feet in the water
2
a
: to keep hanging uncertainly
b
: to hold out as an inducement
Synonyms
Examples of dangle in a Sentence
Verb
Let your arms dangle at your sides.
She sat on the edge of the pool, dangling her feet in the water.
He dangled a piece of string in front of the cat.
The money she dangled in front of him wasn't enough to convince him to sell.
They refused to accept the money that was dangled before their eyes.
Recent Examples on the Web
Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 24 Apr. 2024
Grab a seat in the main dining room enveloped in a happy green, or the courtyard fixed with dangling orchids to nosh on an array of soups, salads and sandwiches.
—Angela Caraway-Carlton, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
Hot pink and teal dominate her living room, which is decorated with quirky decor like dangling twinkle lights and a houseplant growing from a corn on the cob vase.
—Kara Peeler, Sunset Magazine, 15 Apr. 2024
The vision for the urban garden, complete with a greenhouse with grape vines dangling from the ceiling and tomatoes ripening in the sun outside, was dreamed up by Mike Rollen, who learned how to garden from his grandmother, the business’ namesake.
—Anna Spoerre, Kansas City Star, 12 Apr. 2024
Dramatic helicopter footage released by the sheriff’s office showed the man clinging onto the cliff while dangling over the rising ocean tide.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
Updatable firmware dangled an irresistible temptation for folks to start reverse engineering…
Installing many of these mods is ridiculously easy.
—IEEE Spectrum, 27 Mar. 2024
The Chesapeake 1000 floated the dangling wreckage to Sparrows Point, an industrial stretch of Baltimore’s waterfront, which was home to a shuttered Bethlehem Steel plant that provided steel for the span in the 1970s.
—Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 15 Apr. 2024
McKinnon is wearing her character Colleen’s trademark jeans, a disheveled brown wig, and a dangling cigarette.
—Anne McCarthy, Variety, 14 Apr. 2024
Erin Clements, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024
But, unsurprisingly, the nation’s most popular game of chance has a sinister undertone as major lotteries capitalize on people’s hopes and dangle the ever-elusive carrot of a jackpot over financially vulnerable Americans.
—Chloe Berger, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2024
Many consumer lending products, including traditional credit cards, regularly dangle promotions to attract and maintain borrowers.
—J.j. McCorvey, NBC News, 30 Mar. 2024
But a small strap dangles from the inside lid of the compartment.
—Aarian Marshall, WIRED, 12 Mar. 2024
The weakened twigs can be broken by the wind and fall to the ground or dangle from the tree.
—USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2024
Feathers dangle from the ceiling, and traditional medicines and herbs in small leather pouches are close by.
—David Kelly, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2024
In the center of the dining area, a clown sculpture dangles from a cluster of colorful faux balloons attached to the ceiling.
—Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 29 Feb. 2024
Williams was free of jewelry except for one pair of dangle diamond earrings.
—Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 13 Feb. 2024
Verb
Musk has long dangled the dream of releasing a Model 2 EV that would cost $25,000 and bring Tesla into the mass market.
—Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 24 Apr. 2024
Grab a seat in the main dining room enveloped in a happy green, or the courtyard fixed with dangling orchids to nosh on an array of soups, salads and sandwiches.
—Angela Caraway-Carlton, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
Hot pink and teal dominate her living room, which is decorated with quirky decor like dangling twinkle lights and a houseplant growing from a corn on the cob vase.
—Kara Peeler, Sunset Magazine, 15 Apr. 2024
The vision for the urban garden, complete with a greenhouse with grape vines dangling from the ceiling and tomatoes ripening in the sun outside, was dreamed up by Mike Rollen, who learned how to garden from his grandmother, the business’ namesake.
—Anna Spoerre, Kansas City Star, 12 Apr. 2024
Dramatic helicopter footage released by the sheriff’s office showed the man clinging onto the cliff while dangling over the rising ocean tide.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024
Updatable firmware dangled an irresistible temptation for folks to start reverse engineering…
Installing many of these mods is ridiculously easy.
—IEEE Spectrum, 27 Mar. 2024
The Chesapeake 1000 floated the dangling wreckage to Sparrows Point, an industrial stretch of Baltimore’s waterfront, which was home to a shuttered Bethlehem Steel plant that provided steel for the span in the 1970s.
—Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 15 Apr. 2024
McKinnon is wearing her character Colleen’s trademark jeans, a disheveled brown wig, and a dangling cigarette.
—Anne McCarthy, Variety, 14 Apr. 2024
Noun
The dark ride uses a vehicle mechanism in which riders legs dangle below them in order to simulate flying.
—Erin Clements, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024
But, unsurprisingly, the nation’s most popular game of chance has a sinister undertone as major lotteries capitalize on people’s hopes and dangle the ever-elusive carrot of a jackpot over financially vulnerable Americans.
—Chloe Berger, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2024
Many consumer lending products, including traditional credit cards, regularly dangle promotions to attract and maintain borrowers.
—J.j. McCorvey, NBC News, 30 Mar. 2024
But a small strap dangles from the inside lid of the compartment.
—Aarian Marshall, WIRED, 12 Mar. 2024
The weakened twigs can be broken by the wind and fall to the ground or dangle from the tree.
—USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2024
Feathers dangle from the ceiling, and traditional medicines and herbs in small leather pouches are close by.
—David Kelly, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2024
In the center of the dining area, a clown sculpture dangles from a cluster of colorful faux balloons attached to the ceiling.
—Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 29 Feb. 2024
Williams was free of jewelry except for one pair of dangle diamond earrings.
—Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 13 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dangle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Dangle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dangle. Accessed 2 May. 2024.
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