as in to whip
to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible
some medieval monks believed it was necessary to flagellate themselves in order to keep their desires in check
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Recent Examples of flagellate
For Logan, none of these self-flagellating exercises mattered.
—
Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 23 Mar. 2023
One Peruvian candidate has taken time to talk about his habit of wearing a wire chain, known as a cilice, every day to flagellate himself.
—Star Tribune, 8 Apr. 2021
All are said to have had affairs with Lucian Freud (was there anyone who didn’t?), three with Arthur Koestler and one with Egypt’s King Farouk (who liked to flagellate her on the steps of the royal palace with his dressing-gown cord).
—Moira Hodgson, WSJ, 31 Jan. 2020
Muslims were mobilizing; once, Mr. Rizvi visited during Muharram, an annual ritual of mourning, and found her surrounded by pilgrims, flagellating themselves with chains to which razor blades had been attached.
—Ellen Barry, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2019
See All Example Sentences for flagellate
Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 23 Mar. 2023
One Peruvian candidate has taken time to talk about his habit of wearing a wire chain, known as a cilice, every day to flagellate himself.
—Star Tribune, 8 Apr. 2021
All are said to have had affairs with Lucian Freud (was there anyone who didn’t?), three with Arthur Koestler and one with Egypt’s King Farouk (who liked to flagellate her on the steps of the royal palace with his dressing-gown cord).
—Moira Hodgson, WSJ, 31 Jan. 2020
Muslims were mobilizing; once, Mr. Rizvi visited during Muharram, an annual ritual of mourning, and found her surrounded by pilgrims, flagellating themselves with chains to which razor blades had been attached.
—Ellen Barry, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2019
See All Example Sentences for flagellate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flagellate
Verb
-
The San Diego native whipped a low cross into the box, which both Adriana Leon and Ascanio narrowly missed.—
Fernando Ramirez,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 June 2025
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Chelsea took the lead on 13 minutes when Neto raced away from deep inside the Flamengo half and opened his body before whipping the ball past Agustin Rossi.—
Liam Twomey,
New York Times,
20 June 2025
Verb
-
The palette is a unique blend of pink, tan, and hints of blue-green that add a subtle amount of color while still hiding dirt and debris.—
Shea Simmons,
Southern Living,
26 June 2025
-
Weathered and bumpy, the wall hidden among the surplus clothing stores of the Fashion District was hardly the perfect canvas.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
26 June 2025
Verb
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Norms are being shattered, aid budgets for the poorest and most vulnerable are being slashed, and for the first time in a generation, extreme poverty has been on the rise.—
Michael Sheldrick,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
-
Trump also suggested that the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE — the cost-cutting division unpopular among Americans that Musk led before exiting the administration in late May — might consider slashing incentives that Musk’s companies receive from the U.S. government.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
1 July 2025
Verb
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The Speccie’s star columnist is the rudest man in Christendom, the Godzilla of contumely, an all-time non-sufferer of fools who horsewhips his targets the way Hunter S. Thompson and Christopher Hitchens once did.—
Kyle Smith,
National Review,
23 Apr. 2020
-
In reality, Watson wasn’t a bar fighter or famous for horsewhipping cowboys.—
Eliza McGraw,
Smithsonian,
12 Mar. 2018
Verb
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In one particularly jarring example, under threat of being unplugged, Anthropic’s latest creation Claude 4 lashed back by blackmailing an engineer and threatened to reveal an extramarital affair.—
Thomas Urbain,
Fortune,
29 June 2025
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The president also lashed out at economists who predicted his administration’s tariffs could cause a recession.—
Francesca Chambers,
USA Today,
28 June 2025
Verb
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Underneath her coat, Witherspoon wore an ankle-length black skirt and leather round-toe boots.—
Hannah Jackson,
Vogue,
28 Jan. 2025
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Compare with the Met’s full-size cast, from 1985, and these miniatures cleave the collective anguish into distinct emotions — one figure seems mid-dance, one bored, another ecstatic — in a range of patinas, from dark chocolate to leather.—
Walker Mimms,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Sure, the No. 3 pick of the 2018 draft revived his formerly flailing career in an emphatic way last season, injecting himself into the MVP conversation while leading the Minnesota Vikings to the brink of the NFC’s No. 1 playoff seed.—
Michael Silver,
New York Times,
19 June 2025
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Niccol credited her with poaching him from Chipotle as Starbucks sought to find a leader who could turn around its flailing business.—
Amelia Lucas,
CNBC,
15 June 2025
Verb
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Judas, one of the apostles, betrays Jesus and that same night, Jesus is arrested and flogged.—
Tribune News Reports,
Hartford Courant,
13 June 2025
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The consumption, possession or sale of alcohol are crimes that can lead to jail sentences, fines or flogging.—
Amira El-Fekki,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flagellate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flagellate. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.
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