brandish
to wave a weapon to frighten someone
To hold a weapon up and wave or swing it in a way that threatens someone or shows you are ready to use it.
to wave something strongly so people notice it
To wave or thrust something in the air or toward someone in an aggressive or attention-getting way.
to show your qualifications in a proud way
To display something such as qualifications, awards, or proof in a boastful way or to gain an advantage in an argument or situation.
a quick threatening wave (often of a weapon)
A dramatic or threatening swing or wave of something, especially a weapon.
- Base: brandish
- 3rd Person Singular: brandishes
- Present Participle: brandishing
- Past: brandished
brandish [one's] credentials
1use qualifications to gain authority
to show your qualifications to impress or win
- He kept brandishing his credentials to shut down criticism.
- You don’t need to brandish your credentials to be taken seriously here.
- She brandished her medical credentials to argue against the misinformation.
- He brandished his credentials in the meeting.
brandish [something] around
1wave something around for attention
to wave something around so everyone sees it
- People panicked when he started brandishing a metal bar around.
- Stop brandishing that lighter around and put it away.
- She was brandishing her new phone around to show it off.
- He brandished a stick around.
brandish [something] as evidence
1hold up proof dramatically
to show proof to support your claim
- She brandished a screenshot as evidence that he had lied.
- The article brandished a single statistic as evidence, ignoring the larger trend.
- He brandished the email as evidence that the company knew about the problem.
- He brandished the photo as evidence.
brandish [something] in someone's face
1show something aggressively up close
to push something close to someone angrily
- He brandished the contract in her face and demanded she sign.
- Don’t brandish your phone in my face—back up.
- The man brandished his badge in the clerk’s face to get service.
- He brandished the paper in my face.
brandish [something] like a weapon
1use information to attack
to use something to attack someone in an argument
- He brandished company policy like a weapon to silence complaints.
- Online, people sometimes brandish half-true facts like a weapon.
- She brandished her sarcasm like a weapon during the meeting.
- He brandished the rule like a weapon.