Can I say “trees were shaking” because of the wind? Or should it be “moving” or something else?

Question

The strong wind blew and all the trees in our mini park were ...

What word should I use here? I mean that situation when the wind is strong enough to cause the trees to make some motions, yet not be uprooted (like in case of hurricane)

Answer 1

One phrase that could be used is that they were blown back and forth or that they were blown about. This implies that there was movement due to the wind, but the trees weren't destroyed.

If the wind blew off the leaves, but the trees were intact, you can say that they were blown bare.

If you only want one word, you can say they were shaken. The definition writes:

To cause to move to and fro with jerky movements.

So if the wind blew the trees around in no particular smooth motion, then they were shaken by the wind.

Answer 2

You could also say the trees were swaying.

Answer 3

In a really string wind, trees can appear to be doubled over.

Bent would also work.

Bowed can also be used (although "bowed" is used more when there is something in the branches (fruit or ice) that causes the tree to bend).

Answer 4

One of the verbs that could decribe this include:

Waving about/The trees in our park were waving about.

Also, it is common to say "waving their branches" :

The tress in our park waved their branches when the wind blew.

But I think the above expression borders on the picturesque type.