as in flapping
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1
as in fluttering
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
2
as in whipping
to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible
gruesome evidence that the prisoner had been flailed
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Recent Examples of flailing
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025
Morant appears to be at odds with Memphis brass, and has already been suspended by his own flailing team once this season for appearing to question his head coach.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Nov. 2025
Cernan, the junior pilot, was outside, dangling—actually spinning, tumbling, and flailing—at the end of a long umbilical cord, completely unable to control his movements.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 11 Nov. 2025
Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon called a timeout with five seconds remaining and Jackie Young flailing — wanting to ensure that the Aces got the final shot of the game — and Hammon put the ball in her MVP’s hands.
—Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
Clark, who knelt beside Foo 30 years ago when the surfer was pulled lifeless from the sea, watched Slebir’s epic ride that day from the back of a Sea-Doo, set up to pull flailing surfers aboard.
—Julia Prodis Sulek, Mercury News, 13 Sep. 2025
On the ground in Wedgewood Houston, a tiny bird fought an army of enclosing fire ants, wildly kicking and flailing.
—Audrey Gibbs, Nashville Tennessean, 9 Sep. 2025
The last one, right below the zone, had Crow-Armstrong flailing to end the frame.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2025
Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2026
On Netflix Summer 2026 | Comedy A forty-year-old executive hopes to save his flailing career by joining a group of twenty-somethings on a wild three-day bachelor party, after he’s inadvertently added to their group text.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 7 Jan. 2026
And that left Buzelis as the sole spark for a flailing Bulls team.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
But from a professional standpoint, Ross is flailing and failing.
—Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026
The Fed is widely expected to hold rates steady until the middle of 2026 in order to support a flailing labor market.
—David Goldman, CNN Money, 29 Dec. 2025
Steering a flailing economy, presiding over Central America's highest homicide rate, and tolerating corruption in her own ranks Her party’s candidate, once the front-runner, trails in a distant third at 19 percent.
—Newsweek Editors, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
His son, Seth (Will Price), has been flailing since Ron’s attention drifted, and his daughter Natalie’s (Sophia Lillis) relationship is suddenly in trouble now, too.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 30 Nov. 2025
The Lions are the new standard in the division, and the Vikings suddenly have the feel of an organization that is flailing a bit.
—Alec Lewis, New York Times, 1 Nov. 2025
Noun
And so too is his slightly flailing, vaguely desperate, going-for-it run, typified by his hair falling out of place and the sense that this man is fundamentally, for all his money and celebrity, some guy trying to get from one place to another.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025
Morant appears to be at odds with Memphis brass, and has already been suspended by his own flailing team once this season for appearing to question his head coach.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Nov. 2025
Cernan, the junior pilot, was outside, dangling—actually spinning, tumbling, and flailing—at the end of a long umbilical cord, completely unable to control his movements.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 11 Nov. 2025
Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon called a timeout with five seconds remaining and Jackie Young flailing — wanting to ensure that the Aces got the final shot of the game — and Hammon put the ball in her MVP’s hands.
—Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
Clark, who knelt beside Foo 30 years ago when the surfer was pulled lifeless from the sea, watched Slebir’s epic ride that day from the back of a Sea-Doo, set up to pull flailing surfers aboard.
—Julia Prodis Sulek, Mercury News, 13 Sep. 2025
On the ground in Wedgewood Houston, a tiny bird fought an army of enclosing fire ants, wildly kicking and flailing.
—Audrey Gibbs, Nashville Tennessean, 9 Sep. 2025
The last one, right below the zone, had Crow-Armstrong flailing to end the frame.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2025
Verb
Stephen Ross, the Miami Dolphins’ majority owner since 2009, is now looking for his eighth different head coach in a parade of floundering, flailing and failing.
—Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2026
On Netflix Summer 2026 | Comedy A forty-year-old executive hopes to save his flailing career by joining a group of twenty-somethings on a wild three-day bachelor party, after he’s inadvertently added to their group text.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 7 Jan. 2026
And that left Buzelis as the sole spark for a flailing Bulls team.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
But from a professional standpoint, Ross is flailing and failing.
—Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026
The Fed is widely expected to hold rates steady until the middle of 2026 in order to support a flailing labor market.
—David Goldman, CNN Money, 29 Dec. 2025
Steering a flailing economy, presiding over Central America's highest homicide rate, and tolerating corruption in her own ranks Her party’s candidate, once the front-runner, trails in a distant third at 19 percent.
—Newsweek Editors, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
His son, Seth (Will Price), has been flailing since Ron’s attention drifted, and his daughter Natalie’s (Sophia Lillis) relationship is suddenly in trouble now, too.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 30 Nov. 2025
The Lions are the new standard in the division, and the Vikings suddenly have the feel of an organization that is flailing a bit.
—Alec Lewis, New York Times, 1 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flailing
Noun
-
The doll also was given articulated elbows and wrists to acknowledge stimming, hand flapping and other gestures that some autistic people use to process sensory information or to express excitement, according to Mattel.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
12 Jan. 2026
-
The doll also was given articulated elbows and wrists to acknowledge stimming, hand flapping and other gestures that some people with autism use to process sensory information or to express excitement, according to Mattel.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The metallic silver dress featured dense sequins, subtle corsetry through the waist, and a fluttering midiskirt that shifted with movement.—
Daisy Maldonado,
InStyle,
12 Jan. 2026
-
With 10 minutes to spare before a rally at the intersection of 45th Street and Lamar Boulevard, at least 50 protesters were already showing up with drums, saxophones, homemade signs and fluttering American flags to protest ICE's killing of 37-year-old Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good.—
Dante Motley,
Austin American Statesman,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The cold weather shouldn’t be a huge factor unless the wind starts whipping.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Jan. 2026
-
The wind was whipping throughout Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, that day, which had a massive impact on the kicking game.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
29 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Assuming whatever creature birthed from a spider egg was also a shapeshifter would even allow the show to bring back everyone’s favorite dancing clown in a modern-day context without too much hand-waving.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
15 Dec. 2025
-
Some 65,000 fans reveling in SDFC’s six goals scored and vibing off the supporter groups’ chants, drum-banging and flag-waving.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Right now, the overstock outlet is hiding miracle-working gardening tools, like this $4 gardening hoe and a $7 weed puller.—
Stephanie Osmanski,
Better Homes & Gardens,
16 Jan. 2026
-
Even the front door had been hiding back there for who knows how long, just waiting to be salvaged.—
Gina Mayfield,
Dallas Morning News,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Throughout the writhing and the screaming, Julia’s fortitude wears down a defiant Davina, whose history with Lovat feeds the moment.—
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Cut spending by slashing state programs?—
Sarah Cutler,
Idaho Statesman,
9 Jan. 2026
-
These include terminating or suspending contracts with private providers and slashing supplemental aid previously available to foster families.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Patients first experience twitching or weakness in a limb, as Decker did.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
PEOPLE,
16 Dec. 2025
-
The more serious side effects of caffeine overdose include trouble breathing, sudden high blood pressure, muscle twitching, confusion, vomiting and seizures.—
News Editor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flailing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flailing. Accessed 19 Jan. 2026.
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