Thesaurus results for FLAIL

flail 1 of 2

verb

Definition of flail

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

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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

flail

2 of 2

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of flail

Verb

While the Yankees are often criticized for being too analytical, tabbing Cole goes against the numbers, as Tampa’s lineup has flailed against southpaws all season. — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 2 Oct. 2026 The radical group believes that sacrificing three people is the key to saving humanity — when all Tyler wants to do is save his flailing acting career. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Oct. 2026 Their good fortune is picking up speed, as the increasingly sclerotic and daft president furiously flails. — Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026 So, why now, halfway through the first take of the shoot, was Axl flailing his arm like a windmill with his jacket hurling around through space like a lasso? — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for flail

Recent Examples of Synonyms for flail

Verb

Jackson threw a lateral to wide receiver Tucker Cusano, who was supposed to throw downfield, but the ball appeared to slip out of his hand and fluttered into the air.

— Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 1 Nov. 2026
The big night As a photographer’s shutter clicks, Folger flutters a mascara wand over her lashes while preparing for opening night at the Elysian.

— Meredith Maran, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of flutter

Verb

Tracee Ellis Ross, meanwhile, happily obliged when photographers asked her to whip her long ponytail for the cameras.

— Kelsey Stewart, Vogue, 29 Oct. 2026
In September 2022, Brandon Sanchez, a member of the show cast, documented a riding lesson in an email to management and HR, describing Garcia berating riders and whipping a Friesian horse for an extended period.

— Alessandra Schade, Vanity Fair, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of whip

Verb

Birds chirp in the tree branches above, and a large yellow butterfly alights on a leaf before flapping away into the sloping sunshine.

— Sophie Neiman, Christian Science Monitor, 5 Oct. 2026
That means the bird species flapping around in backyards today are effectively the only surviving dinosaurs.

— Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of flap

Verb

Russian tech companies are scrambling to harden and hide their data centers underground after Ukrainian drone strikes damaged facilities housing AI supercomputers and disrupted cloud services for millions of Russian users.

— Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 3 Nov. 2026
Check the plant’s foliage for pests occasionally, paying particular attention to the undersides of leaves, where spider mites, scale and aphids like to hide.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of hide

Noun

Fortunately, plenty of new high-tech tools offer assistance, including robot guide dogs, a cane-bot (looking a bit like a small R2D2 with giant wheels), multiple types of smart glasses with descriptive audio, and even a haptic vest for blind dogs.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 1 Nov. 2026
My wife requires a cane or walker due to spinal stenosis and muscular weakness.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of cane

Verb

The method is precise, but the effect is unruly, as if the chainsaws are really back there somewhere inside the speaker, about to slash through the cone.

— Andy Cush, Pitchfork, 31 Oct. 2026
Waste disposal alternatives Meanwhile, other labs across America are looking at alternative nuclear fuel recycling technologies to slash the radioactive waste storage from thousands of years to just hundreds.

— Muskan Bhatia, Interesting Engineering, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of slash

Noun

And even when everyone is behaving legally, teams sometimes use the opportunity as a cudgel in salary negotiations with employees.

— Stephanie Apstein, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2026
Many Muslim-Americans feel as though their faith is being used as a cudgel against them in a political world that sometimes treats Muslim candidates as outsiders, rather than citizens.

— Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of cudgel

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flag-wavers

flail

flailed

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Style

“Flail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flail. Accessed 4 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of flail

verb

noun

Example Sentences

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