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
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2
as in to whip
to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible
gruesome evidence that the prisoner had been flailed
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flail
David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 26 Sep. 2025
The Red Sox continue to get help from the flailing Houston Astros, who lost 6-0 to the Athletics late Wednesday night for the club’s fifth straight loss.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 25 Sep. 2025
And, back at home, his FBI director, Kash Patel was flailing in a pair of congressional hearings this week when asked about Epstein.
—Chris Brennan, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
Weeks 3 and 4, when Denver was flailing.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flail
Noun
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
The Red Sox continue to get help from the flailing Houston Astros, who lost 6-0 to the Athletics late Wednesday night for the club’s fifth straight loss.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 25 Sep. 2025
And, back at home, his FBI director, Kash Patel was flailing in a pair of congressional hearings this week when asked about Epstein.
—Chris Brennan, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
Weeks 3 and 4, when Denver was flailing.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flail
Verb
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The Bolas spider creates a silk lasso to catch fluttering moths.—
Kate Siber,
Outside,
21 Oct. 2025
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Novo Nordisk flags flutter outside their office in Bagsvaerd, on the outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark, July 14, 2025.—
Annika Kim Constantino,Bertha Coombs,
CNBC,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Sides of salad, mushrooms, mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, whipped sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, buttered corn, stuffing and cranberry sauce can be purchased a la carte.—
Elaine Rewolinski,
jsonline.com,
3 Nov. 2025
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Somebody could come up and whip us.—
Frank DiGiacomo,
Billboard,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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There’s Xi Jinping mogging Bibi Netanyahu while deafeningly aggro phonk bludgeons away; hype montages paint Marx as history’s greatest theorist and pair Zohran Mamdani quotes with Playboi Carti Die Lit cuts.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
24 Oct. 2025
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The next unethical president on the left will happily use whatever government bludgeon this administration fashions to pummel the right.—
Krista Kafer,
Denver Post,
20 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In the canonical metaphorical example, a butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil, and the cascading sequence of atmospheric perturbations leads to a tornado in Texas.—
Dan Garisto,
Scientific American,
22 Oct. 2025
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Moments later, the monarch began to flap its wings and crawl onto Bendicksen’s hand.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Hanlon wasn’t trying to hide his glee.—
Stephen Hobbs,
Sacbee.com,
2 Nov. 2025
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Curious what top dollar items could be hiding in your grandma's house?—
Heather Bien,
Southern Living,
2 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Trump has wielded them like a cudgel to get better trade deals with other countries.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
30 Oct. 2025
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Erin Simkin—Netflix Advertisement Likability can be a cudgel against female characters, and, thanks to Girls, Konner is used to dealing with questions on that subject.—
Esther Zuckerman,
Time,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The biggest test may be in Virginia, which is home to many federal workers impacted by the government shutdown and efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency to slash agencies.—
Zac Anderson,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
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In the wake of the results, reported late Thursday, several Wall Street firms slashed their price targets.—
Scott Schnipper,
CNBC,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Known as cane cutters, cane jakes, or more commonly swamp rabbits, this species is found in the low lying areas in Indiana’s southern hardwood forests where tall reed-like grasses grow that resemble bamboo or sugar cane.—
Karl Schneider,
IndyStar,
29 Oct. 2025
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Avoid long or sharp swords, sticks or canes to prevent injury if a child trips and falls.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flail. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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