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
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An overlapping full-back who can whip over a hell of a cross.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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Pretty sure the border is whipped topping as well.—
Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
In addition to being faster and scalable, fiber doesn’t hide metals worth extracting and reselling.—
Rob Pegoraro,
PC Magazine,
7 Oct. 2025
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Turns out, Kelce was hiding more than just nerves.—
Stephanie Giang-Paunon,
FOXNews.com,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Fortunately, Amazon heard my cries and slashed prices on its most popular cozy knits ahead of its fall Prime Day extravaganza, which kicks off on Tuesday, October 7.—
Emily Weaver,
PEOPLE,
4 Oct. 2025
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Two plays later, Preskenis slashed through the left side of the Texans’ defense for a score.—
Pat Wheeler,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
4 Oct. 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
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In reality, Watson wasn’t a bar fighter or famous for horsewhipping cowboys.—
Eliza McGraw,
Smithsonian,
12 Mar. 2018
Verb
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The penalty was lashed and ludicrous, the timing important with Newcastle leading 1-0 but hardly imperious.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
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Conservatives on social media immediately lashed out at the news.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In September, Polène unveiled a collaboration with Chinese glass artist Jinya Zhao, which took the shape of a geometric sculpture made of blown glass and leather off-cuts and created in two watercolor gradients of lavender and amber.—
Lily Templeton,
Footwear News,
3 Oct. 2025
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Mounting annoyance manifested itself in bizarre fashion last night when manager Chris Wilder, walking towards the tunnel at half-time, leathered a ball into the crowd in anger, above.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Within those questions is the greatness revealed when the image moves again, when charging Eagles safety Reed Blankenship lifts a hand to tip Mayfield’s fourth-quarter throw, when the flailing football tumbles into linebacker Jihaad Campbell’s arms near the pylon.—
Brooks Kubena,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
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The film’s abundant humor and humanity are both rooted in DiCaprio’s ability to contain both of those people at once — to span the distance between those opposite shores while flailing towards each of them with equal desperation.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The only thing tougher to watch than the Bengals’ offense on Sunday was Browning flogging himself over the failure.—
Paul Dehner Jr,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
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On this day in 1850: The U.S. Navy officially abolished flogging as a form of punishment through an act of Congress, which was signed into law by President Millard Fillmore.—
Arizona Republic,
AZCentral.com,
28 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flagellate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flagellate. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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