as in whipping
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 flagellating
His only way of finding any kind of life for himself is to embrace evil, to stop running away from it, to try to stop morally flagellating himself.
—
Charlotte Observer, 25 Feb. 2026
Charlotte Observer, 25 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flagellating
Verb
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The famously-shy sophomore obliged, several of her teammates whipping out their phones to record the big moment.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
1 Apr. 2026
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The Supergirl trailer shows him hootin' and hollerin' while doing donuts on his cycle and whipping his chain weapon around a horde of assailants.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Playing the title role with an unnerving sincerity and startling sense of vulnerability, Early stars as Maddie Ralph, a young woman climbing the ranks as a Los Angeles food influencer while secretly hiding her struggle with bulimia.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Apr. 2026
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The most notorious came in 2014 when Newsweek magazine dropped a bombshell cover story claiming the Bitcoin inventor was a 64-year-old man named Dorian Nakamoto, hiding in plain sight outside Los Angeles.—
Jeff John Roberts,
Fortune,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Earlier this year, the board voted for a debt mitigation plan that involved slashing upwards of 70 jobs, closing a historic elementary school and cutting dozens of district programs and contracts.—
Ilana Arougheti,
Kansas City Star,
8 Apr. 2026
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The company is slashing prices to course correct, but its efforts may be too little too late.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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After lashing out at Morgan for suggesting that Lucia was a suspect, Karadec shows up at Morgan’s front door to apologize, leading to a tearful heart-to-heart between the partners.—
Max Gao,
Variety,
8 Apr. 2026
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The president of a labor union representing Transportation Security Administration employees is lashing out at lawmakers, telling them not to leave Washington, DC, for Easter recess before passing a deal to pay its agents amid the ongoing partial government shutdown.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Maza drew in Hamburg players before flicking the ball on for Kofane, who lashed it into the top-left corner.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 Mar. 2026
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The name Dekopin in Japanese refers to flicking someone on the forehead with a finger, typically as a lighthearted punishment or joke.—
Ryan Brennan,
Miami Herald,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Since then, the basketball program has grown from a flailing handcar to the little engine that could to a freight train.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
4 Apr. 2026
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In a video captured by beach-goers, Phan was seen rushing to the shoreline to untangle the flailing predator.—
Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Examples include a husband having the legal right to restrict his wife’s travel and employment, unequal divorce rights and punishment for appearing in public without a hijab ranging from fines to prison time to flogging.—
Ellie Austin,
Fortune,
21 Jan. 2026
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Others have called out the boring marketing campaign based around flogging variants in order for Swift to finally beat the record for the biggest opening sales week for a female artist in history (currently held by Adele, which she is likely projected to break).—
Bianca Davino,
Refinery29,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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That means going beyond slapping a flag on packaging in November.—
Peter Su,
Rolling Stone,
1 Apr. 2026
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Mirković took a straight line toward Wagler, slapping his hand and then bringing him in for a long hug — two freshmen raised 5,000 miles apart who came together to help the Illini reach their first Final Four since 2005.—
Colleen Kane,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flagellating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flagellating. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
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