flutter

That’s the scenario posed by a new piece of commentary doing the rounds over the weekend, which has caused quite a flutter online.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 23, 2026

In Nepal's eastern plains, rival political flags depicting blue bells and red suns flutter over tea farms and brick homes -- symbols of a local election campaign shaping landmark nationwide polls.

From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026

The soundtrack captures the subtle smack of lips moving and the flutter of expressive hands moving through air, as well as extraneous sound like the hum of a jet passing overhead.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2025

Pure climbers have calm body language: quiet shoulders, steady hips, legs that flutter on the pedals instead of pounding away.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025

Sky-blue wings splashed with yellow and white dots flapped slowly before the insect took off to flutter elsewhere.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

Little wonder that the language of lepidoptery, with its lively flutters of phrase, has attracted so many literary types and other thinkers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

A mud-stained Venezuelan flag, tied to a pole, flutters in the Caribbean breeze.

From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026

Iran’s flag before the 1979 revolution — green, white and red with a lion and a rising sun — flutters from many overhangs.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

Investors might want to listen to any flutters in their stomachs ahead of today’s Federal Reserve decision on interest rates.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2025

She says, “Huh?” then flutters off some answer that makes very little sense.

From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen

Notes of well wishes fluttered against the trunk as music rang out, and the group joined hands and swayed in unison for an "elm dance", which some nature lovers and activists believe helps trees heal.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Hundreds of green Turkmen flags fluttered in the desert wind, held up by women in red, purple, blue and green outfits.

From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026

Four U.A.E. flags fluttered from the roof in the afternoon breeze, while a small fleet of roughly two dozen school buses stood idle beside the compound.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026

The album covers fluttered like the display on a slot machine.

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2025

She fluttered straight for the clusters of shade trees past the subway entrance and settled into the leaves.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Moth swarms so thick they can blot out the stars are fluttering across Australia, heralding a migratory spectacle unseen since the creature's brush with extinction nearly 10 years ago.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

“If I’m giving a gift … I just think there’s something more personal for them opening a card and having that piece of paper come fluttering out,” Bell said.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

Each time the Storm drove down the court, there was Johnson, her ponytail fluttering as she skirted around the arc before driving into the paint, nonchalantly tossing up layups as if it was still shootaround.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

The assumption was that he was fluttering his eyelashes at Real Madrid.

From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2026

Seven began tapping drumbeats on the closest object, trying to match the beat of her fluttering heart.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega