Word.ws English Dictionary

wag a finger

wag a finger verb: to express one's annoyance with, or disapproval of, someone's actions.

Verb

wag a finger (third-person singular simple present wags a finger, present participle wagging a finger, simple past and past participle wagged a finger)

  1. (idiomatic, often) To express one's annoyance with, or disapproval of, someone's actions.
    • “Edge of the Edge” pairs a playful sample of the doo-wop group Randy & the Rainbows’ 1963 hit “Denise” with Panda’s serenely melodic vocals, which cut through the carefree, pop-psychedelic vibe with some light social critique: “Can’t say it’s what you bargained for,” he sings, wagging a finger at...2022 August 5, Jon Caramanica, Lindsay Zoladz, “Carly Rae Jepsen’s Brand-New Boy Problems, and 7 More New Songs”, in The New York Times
    • In reality Infantino has presided over a World Cup staged in a repressive state that has feasted on those who built its palaces, and has barely wagged a finger at Iran’s regime in the lead up to their appearance here.2022 November 21, Barney Ronay, “Iran’s brave and powerful gesture is a small wonder from a World Cup of woe”, in The Guardian

Forms of wag a finger

third-person singular presentwags a finger
present participlewagging a finger
past participlewagged a finger
pastwagged a finger
alternative formwag one's finger

Questions about wag a finger

What does wag a finger mean?
Wag a finger means to express one's annoyance with, or disapproval of, someone's actions.
What part of speech is wag a finger?
Wag a finger is a verb.
What is the past tense of wag a finger?
The past tense of wag a finger is wagged a finger.

Words near wag a finger in the dictionary

  1. wafture
  2. waftures
  3. wafty
  4. wafu dressing
  5. wag
  6. wag a finger
  7. wag hemp
  8. wag it
  9. wag one
  10. wag one's finger
  11. wag the dog

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: wag a finger (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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