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
• flagellate
• switch
• leather
• spank
• flog
• cut
• punch
• knock
• scourge
• maul
• horsewhip
• smack
• 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
• rough
• paddle
• thwack
• clobber
• bop
• touch up
• bash
• mangle
• slug
• crack
• belt
• thresh
• sock
• cuff
• clout
• paste
• lather
• blackjack
• lambaste
• pommel
• batter
• slate
• bust
• work over
• lam
• whup
• bung
• drub
• slog
• whop
• fustigate
• belabor
• wallop
• baste
• fib
• buffet
• tromp
• pistol-whip
• lace

flail

2 of 2

noun

as in bludgeon

Related Words

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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of flail

Verb

Tidwell fell behind in the count 3-1 to Duran, but got Duran to flail at a sweeper out of the zone for strike two, then locked him up on another sweeper to punch him out. — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2026

Wang joined in June of last year as the centerpiece of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s effort to revamp his company’s flailing artificial intelligence strategy. — Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 5 Aug. 2026

So kudos to the extras who steal scenes from them in the background, flailing like avant-garde dancers when a vicious mental parasite leaps from grandmothers to joggers to security guards on a quest to find something awful. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 30 July 2026

Flushed and flailing during Schauf’s final countdown, her gum-chewing getting a little more exaggerated with each second, Cooper quipped that her handiwork might be better sealed under a closed casket. — John Semley, Harpers Magazine, 28 July 2026