Wave vs. Waive: What's the Difference?
Edited by Huma Saeed || By Sawaira Riaz || Updated on November 9, 2023
"Wave" refers to a moving pattern or motion, while "waive" means to relinquish a right or claim.
Key Differences
"Wave" denotes a physical motion, often undulating like the sea, symbolizing a pattern or movement, while "waive" signifies the intentional relinquishment of a known right, claim, or privilege.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 08, 2023
"Wave" can describe a gesture used to greet or signal someone, showing a recognition or a bid for attention, whereas "waive" is a legal term, often indicating a formal declaration of foregoing some entitlement or requirement.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 08, 2023
"Wave" has various meanings across scientific contexts, including disturbances that transfer energy from place to place, while "waive" strictly pertains to the voluntary abandonment or surrender of a right or privilege.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 08, 2023
"Wave" can metaphorically depict a surge in emotions or actions, illustrating a collective, strong feeling or response, while "waive" remains a procedural action, generally devoid of emotional connotations.
Janet White
Nov 08, 2023
"Wave," as a noun or verb, has forms reflecting its diverse meanings (waves, waved, waving), while "waive" is primarily a verb, with its action pertaining to a singular, specific legal or formal context.
Harlon Moss
Nov 08, 2023
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Wave and Waive Definitions
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Wave
A member of the women's reserve of the US Navy, organized during World War II, but now no longer a separate branch.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
A ridge or swell moving through or along the surface of a large body of water.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
A small ridge or swell moving across the interface of two fluids and dependent on surface tension.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Waive
To refrain from insisting on or enforcing (a rule, penalty, or requirement, for example); dispense with
"The original ban on private trading had long since been waived" (William L. Schurz).
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Waive
To refrain from engaging in, sometimes temporarily; cancel or postpone
Let's waive our discussion of that problem.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
A moving curve or succession of curves in or on a surface; an undulation
Waves of wheat in the wind.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Waive
To relinquish (a right etc.); to give up claim to; to forgo.
If you waive the right to be silent, anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Waive
(particularly) To relinquish claim on a payment or fee which would otherwise be due.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
A sudden great rise, as in activity or intensity
A wave of panic selling on the stock market.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
A rising trend that involves large numbers of individuals
A wave of conservatism.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
A maneuver in which fans at a sports event simulate an ocean wave by rising quickly in sequence with arms upraised and then quickly sitting down again in a continuous rolling motion.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
A widespread, persistent meteorological condition, especially of temperature
A heat wave.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
A disturbance that travels through a medium. Energy is transferred by a wave from one region of the medium to another without causing any permanent displacement of the medium.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
A graphic representation of the variation of such a disturbance with time.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Waive
To relinquish; to give up claim to; not to insist on or claim; to refuse; to forego.
He waiveth milk, and flesh, and all.
We absolutely do renounce or waive our own opinions, absolutely yielding to the direction of others.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
To move freely back and forth or up and down in the air, as branches in the wind.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Waive
To throw away; to relinquish voluntarily, as a right which one may enforce if he chooses.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
To make a signal with an up-and-down or back-and-forth movement of the hand or an object held in the hand
Waved as she drove by.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
To have an undulating or wavy form; curve or curl
Her hair waves naturally.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Waive
Do without or cease to hold or adhere to;
We are dispensing with formalities
Relinquish the old ideas
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
To cause to move back and forth or up and down, either once or repeatedly
She waved a fan before her face.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
To signal or express by waving the hand or an object held in the hand
We waved goodbye.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
To signal (a person) by using the hand to move in a specified direction
The police officer waved the motorist into the right lane.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
(intransitive) To move back and forth repeatedly and somewhat loosely.
The flag waved in the gentle breeze.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
(intransitive) To move one’s hand back and forth (generally above the shoulders) in greeting or departure.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
To call attention to, or give a direction or command to, by a waving motion, as of the hand; to signify by waving; to beckon; to signal; to indicate.
I waved goodbye from across the room.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
(transitive) To raise into inequalities of surface; to give an undulating form or surface to.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
(transitive) To cause to move back and forth repeatedly.
The starter waved the flag to begin the race.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
A moving disturbance in the level of a body of liquid; an undulation.
The wave traveled from the center of the lake before breaking on the shore.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
(physics) A moving disturbance in the energy level of a field.
Gravity waves, while predicted by theory for decades, have been notoriously difficult to detect.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
A shape that alternatingly curves in opposite directions.
Her hair had a nice wave to it.
Sine wave
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
Any of a number of species of moths in the geometrid subfamily Sterrhinae, which have wavy markings on the wings.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
A loose back-and-forth movement, as of the hands.
He dismissed her with a wave of the hand.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
(figuratively) A sudden, but temporary, uptick in something.
A wave of shoppers stampeded through the door when the store opened for its Christmas discount special.
A wave of retirees began moving to the coastal area.
A wave of emotion overcame her when she thought about her son who was killed in battle.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
One of the successive swarms of enemies sent to attack the player in certain games.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
(usually "the wave") A group activity in a crowd imitating a wave going through water, where people in successive parts of the crowd stand and stretch upward, then sit.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
To play loosely; to move like a wave, one way and the other; to float; to flutter; to undulate.
His purple robes waved careless to the winds.
Where the flags of three nations has successively waved.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
To fluctuate; to waver; to be in an unsettled state; to vacillate.
He waved indifferently 'twixt doing them neither good nor harm.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
To raise into inequalities of surface; to give an undulating form a surface to.
Horns whelked and waved like the enridged sea.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
To call attention to, or give a direction or command to, by a waving motion, as of the hand; to signify by waving; to beckon; to signal; to indicate.
Look, with what courteous actionIt waves you to a more removed ground.
She spoke, and bowing wavedDismissal.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
An advancing ridge or swell on the surface of a liquid, as of the sea, resulting from the oscillatory motion of the particles composing it when disturbed by any force their position of rest; an undulation.
The wave behind impels the wave before.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
A vibration propagated from particle to particle through a body or elastic medium, as in the transmission of sound; an assemblage of vibrating molecules in all phases of a vibration, with no phase repeated; a wave of vibration; an undulation. See Undulation.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
Water; a body of water.
Build a ship to save thee from the flood,I 'll furnish thee with fresh wave, bread, and wine.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
A waving or undulating motion; a signal made with the hand, a flag, etc.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
The undulating line or streak of luster on cloth watered, or calendered, or on damask steel.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
Something resembling or likened to a water wave, as in rising unusually high, in being of unusual extent, or in progressive motion; a swelling or excitement, as of feeling or energy; a tide; flood; period of intensity, usual activity, or the like; as, a wave of enthusiasm; waves of applause.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
One of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
A movement like that of an ocean wave;
A wave of settlers
Troops advancing in waves
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
Something that rises rapidly;
A wave of emotion swept over him
There was a sudden wave of buying before the market closed
A wave of conservatism in the country led by the hard right
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
A persistent and widespread unusual weather condition (especially of unusual temperatures)
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
A member of the women's reserve of the United States Navy; originally organized during World War II but now no longer a separate branch
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
Signal with the hands or nod;
She waved to her friends
He waved his hand hospitably
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Wave
Move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion;
The curtains undulated
The waves rolled towards the beach
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
FAQs
Is "waive" about giving up rights?
Yes, it often involves relinquishing legal rights or privileges.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 08, 2023
Is "waive" used in sports?
Yes, players can be waived, meaning released from a team.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 08, 2023
Can "wave" indicate a pattern?
Yes, as in patterns found in nature or trends.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 08, 2023
Does "waive" imply permission?
Sometimes, when one forgoes a formal requirement.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 08, 2023
Can "wave" be a greeting?
Absolutely, it’s a common gesture of greeting or farewell.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 08, 2023
Does "wave" suggest rhythm?
Often, especially when describing repeated patterns.
Harlon Moss
Nov 08, 2023
Is a "wave" tangible?
It can be, like waves in the ocean, but not always, like radio waves.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 08, 2023
Can "waive" apply to fees?
Yes, fees can be waived, meaning they are not required.
Sara Rehman
Nov 08, 2023
About Author
Written by
Sawaira RiazSawaira is a dedicated content editor at difference.wiki, where she meticulously refines articles to ensure clarity and accuracy. With a keen eye for detail, she upholds the site's commitment to delivering insightful and precise content.
Edited by
Huma SaeedHuma is a renowned researcher acclaimed for her innovative work in Difference Wiki. Her dedication has led to key breakthroughs, establishing her prominence in academia. Her contributions continually inspire and guide her field.
