Synonyms of flail

flail 1 of 2

verb

1

as in to flutter

to move or cause to move with a striking motion

started to flail his arms wildly when he spied a bat in the house

Synonyms & Similar Words

• flutter
• flap
• whip
• flop
• swing
• wave
• sway
• beat
• smack
• flick
• knock
• thump
• flit
• spank
• bang
• oscillate
• pound
• flicker
• batter
• fan
• pulse
• undulate
• throb
• buffet
• palpitate

2

as in to whip

to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible

gruesome evidence that the prisoner had been flailed

Synonyms & Similar Words

• whip
• hide
• slash
• flick
• lash
• thrash
• slap
• hit
• switch
• flagellate
• leather
• spank
• flog
• cut
• punch
• knock
• scourge
• maul
• smack
• horsewhip
• lick
• whale
• bat
• tan
• cowhide
• whack
• birch
• bang
• clap
• rawhide
• strap
• pound
• clip
• cane
• swipe
• thump
• beat
• swat
• quirt
• smite
• pummel
• cudgel
• pelt
• box
• club
• bludgeon
• knout
• hammer
• paddle
• rough
• thwack
• clobber
• bop
• touch up
• bash
• mangle
• crack
• slug
• belt
• thresh
• sock
• cuff
• clout
• lambast
• paste
• lather
• blackjack
• lambaste
• batter
• pommel
• slate
• bust
• work over
• lam
• whup
• bung
• drub
• slog
• whap
• whop
• fustigate
• belabor
• wallop
• baste
• fib
• buffet
• tromp
• pistol-whip
• lace

flail

2 of 2

noun

as in bludgeon

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bludgeon
• cudgel
• cane
• baton
• nightstick
• bat
• billy
• bastinado
• staff
• billy club
• strap
• bastinade
• knout
• hickory
• rattan
• quirt
• bullwhip
• crop
• birch
• whip
• club
• blacksnake
• rawhide
• cowhide
• flogger
• lash
• cat-o'-nine-tails
• switch
• scourge

Examples of flail in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

By Matt Fuchs August 1, 2024 2:17 PM EDT My nine-year-old skips, jumps, flails his arms, jumps some more, kicks, skip-jumps, stops by to punch me in the leg, and continues. —Matt Fuchs, TIME, 1 Aug. 2024

King had a strikeout in all but one of his frames as the Braves often flailed at pitches well outside of the strike zone. —Jay Paris, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024

When England’s team exposed caterpillars to electric fields similar to those generated by a flying wasp, caterpillars displayed defensive behaviors (opens a new tab) such as coiling, flailing or biting. —quantamagazine.org, 30 Sep. 2024

But perhaps the most arresting is the cover shot, which features Clark, flailing and with her arms on fire, in a pose very reminiscent of Robert Longo’s Men in the Cities series. —Juliet Izon, Architectural Digest, 24 Sep. 2024