adj.
- Changing or capable of changing position: a moving target.
- Relating to or involved in a transfer of furnishings from one location to another: moving expenses; moving van.
- Causing or producing motion.
- Involving a motor vehicle in motion: a moving violation.
- Arousing or capable of arousing deep emotion: a moving account of the tragedy.
SYNONYMS moving, stirring, poignant, touching, affecting. These adjectives mean arousing or capable of arousing deep, usually somber emotion. Moving is the least specific: "A ... widow ... has laid her case of destitution before him in a very moving letter" (Nathaniel Hawthorne). Something stirring excites strong, turbulent, but not unpleasant feelings: a stirring speech about patriotism. Poignant suggests the evocation of keen, painful emotion: "Poignant grief cannot endure forever" (W.H. Hudson). Touching emphasizes sympathy or tenderness: a touching eulogy. Affecting applies especially to what is heart-rending or bittersweet: an affecting photo of the hostages' release.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
