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
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
Skyler Trepel, People.com, 25 May 2025
The best of the McQuarrie films, Fallout picks up two years after the conclusion of Rogue Nation and, unusual for the series until this point, follows some threads left dangling by the previous film.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 23 May 2025
Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 25 May 2025
The animals—roughly 30,000 in all—groom themselves and their companions, dangle on swings, and scamper about on wooden beams hanging in their pens.
—Byrefael Kubersky, science.org, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dangle
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Verb
Over the franchise's 30-year span, Cruise has done everything from dangling from a wire in Mission: Impossible to motorcycling off a cliff in Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One.
—Skyler Trepel, People.com, 25 May 2025
The best of the McQuarrie films, Fallout picks up two years after the conclusion of Rogue Nation and, unusual for the series until this point, follows some threads left dangling by the previous film.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 23 May 2025
Noun
With so much young talent to dangle in trade talks and loads of money to spend, the Orioles should have had an offseason much like Boston's.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 25 May 2025
The animals—roughly 30,000 in all—groom themselves and their companions, dangle on swings, and scamper about on wooden beams hanging in their pens.
—Byrefael Kubersky, science.org, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dangle
Cite this Entry
“Dangle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dangle. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
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