undulation

[ uhn-juh-ley-shuhn, uhn-dyuh-, -duh- ]

noun

1. an act of undulating; a wavelike motion.
2. a wavy form or outline.
3. one of a series of wavelike bends, curves, or elevations.
4. Physics.
   1. a wave.
   2. the motion of waves.

undulation

/ ˌʌndjʊˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of undulating
2. any wave or wavelike form, line, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of undulation¹

First recorded in 1640–50; undul(ate) + -ation

Example Sentences

Belgium’s Amenra, headlining Thursday, is one of half a dozen international bands performing alongside Friday and Saturday headliners, Forbidden and Weekend Nachos, as well as locals like Seattle’s Undulation, Nox Novacula and Oxygen Destroyer.

From Seattle Times

“Terror Fest really cements the fact that there is a thriving metal scene here, and the balance of local and national/international artists is great,” said Olivia Hatfield, who performs as The Executioner in melodic blackened death metal band Undulation.

From Seattle Times

Most methods of snake locomotion involve some pattern of curling up and straightening out again, such as concertina movement, scrunching their tails up toward their heads and pushing out headfirst, or lateral undulation, tensing and flexing alternating muscles in a sort of continuous wiggle.

From Slate

Naming this astonishing new structure the Radcliffe Wave, in honor of the Harvard Radcliffe Institute, where the undulation was originally discovered, the team now reports in Nature that the Radcliffe Wave not only looks like a wave, but also moves like one – oscillating through space-time much like “the wave” moving through a stadium full of fans.

From Science Daily

The team didn’t see telltale signs of lateral undulation, the kind of movement that would indicate swimming played a prominent role in the evolutionary loss of limbs.

From Science Magazine