Meaning & use
dangled
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“dangled” is a form of “dangle”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitive
Hung or swung loosely from a point, without support from below.
Grammar: No object: the keys dangled from his belt.
Patterns
- dangle from something
- dangle over something
A pair of earrings dangled from her ears.
His legs dangled over the edge of the pier.
A single bulb dangled from the ceiling.
verbtransitive
Held or let something hang or swing loosely, often to catch attention.
Grammar: Takes an object: she dangled the toy above the baby.
Patterns
- dangle something from something
- dangle something over something
He dangled a worm over the water to attract fish.
She dangled her keys in front of the puppy.
The boy dangled his feet in the cold stream.
verbtransitivefigurative
Offered a tempting reward or chance to someone, usually in order to influence them.
Grammar: Often followed by in front of: they dangled a promotion in front of him.
Patterns
- dangle something in front of someone
- dangle something before someone
The company dangled a big bonus in front of its salespeople.
Politicians dangled tax cuts before the voters.
The offer of a lead role was dangled to keep her on the show.
Word forms
| base form | dangle |
|---|---|
| third person singular | dangles |
| past tense | dangled |
| -ing form | dangling |
Common combinations
- dangled a carrot
- The manager dangled a carrot of extra vacation days.
- dangled from the ceiling
- Paper stars dangled from the ceiling.
- dangled his feet
- He dangled his feet in the pool.
- dangled in front of
- A promotion was dangled in front of her.
- dangled over the edge
- Her arm dangled over the edge of the boat.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hung
- Hung is neutral and describes hanging in any way, while dangled suggests loose swinging movement.
- swung
- Swung stresses the back-and-forth motion, whereas dangled stresses hanging from a point.
- offered
- Offered is plain and honest, while dangled implies a tempting offer used as bait.
- drooped
- Drooped describes something sagging down limply, not necessarily hanging from a point.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: dangled or dandled?
dangled vs dandled
Dandled means bounced a small child gently on the knee; dangled means hung loosely.
Practice
The boss ____ the promise of a promotion in front of the staff to make them work harder.
Choose one answer.
Dangled fits because the promotion is offered as a tempting reward. Dandled means to bounce a child, and the other options do not suit the context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dangled”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.