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
Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 26 Jan. 2026
This post was originally published on January 23 Bitcoin has limped into 2026, flailing in the wake of a gold price boom that’s catapulted it to an eye-watering $34 trillion market capitalization (triggering predictions of even more gains to come).
—Billy Bambrough, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026
The movie’s flailing cops attempt to contain the impact.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 22 Jan. 2026
The human figures – no faces, just limbs flailing about – are all in the midst of some unseemly activity.
—Douglas Markowitz, Miami Herald, 21 Jan. 2026
Once placed in the back of the vehicle, she is seen flailing her legs and continuing to shout at officers until the doors are shut.
—Alex Nitzberg, FOXNews.com, 16 Jan. 2026
Try to reinvigorate this flailing movie studio.
—Dana Taylor, USA Today, 15 Jan. 2026
The teams Houston (12-5) After the season’s first three weeks, the Texans were flailing about.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 12 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
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
But this time there also are tangible targets for the Heat and the rest of the league, with Ja Morant’s contretemps with the Memphis Grizzlies, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s flailing supporting cast with the Milwaukee Bucks and Anthony Davis’ likely parting from the Dallas Mavericks.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 26 Jan. 2026
This post was originally published on January 23 Bitcoin has limped into 2026, flailing in the wake of a gold price boom that’s catapulted it to an eye-watering $34 trillion market capitalization (triggering predictions of even more gains to come).
—Billy Bambrough, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026
The movie’s flailing cops attempt to contain the impact.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 22 Jan. 2026
The human figures – no faces, just limbs flailing about – are all in the midst of some unseemly activity.
—Douglas Markowitz, Miami Herald, 21 Jan. 2026
Once placed in the back of the vehicle, she is seen flailing her legs and continuing to shout at officers until the doors are shut.
—Alex Nitzberg, FOXNews.com, 16 Jan. 2026
Try to reinvigorate this flailing movie studio.
—Dana Taylor, USA Today, 15 Jan. 2026
The teams Houston (12-5) After the season’s first three weeks, the Texans were flailing about.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 12 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
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
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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
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Doncic played a role in both clutch shots, first whipping a one-handed pass behind his back across the court to Gabe Vincent, who shoveled the ball with one hand to Hachimura.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Would the place that had been home for months withstand the whipping winds?—
Ginny Monk,
Hartford Courant,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Flag waving, immigration restriction, and culture-war rallying cries can shore up the MAGA-tech coalition, but more will be needed to achieve lasting success.—
Walter Russell Mead,
The Atlantic,
24 Jan. 2026
-
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
Verb
-
The novel is described as a reimagination of Cinderella, with Sophie and Benedict meeting at a masquerade ball, with Sophie hiding her identity because of her role as a maid.—
Jason Pham,
StyleCaster,
29 Jan. 2026
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In the late 1700s, when the Spanish built missions nearby at San Juan Bautista, Santa Clara, Carmel and Santa Cruz, natives often fled to avoid cruel conditions, tribal leaders have noted, hiding on Sargent Ranch, in the hills of Pacheco Pass, and other remote locations.—
Paul Rogers,
Mercury News,
29 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
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According to Reagan Republicans, America’s problems could be solved by cutting federal spending, slashing taxes, and gutting regulations on business.—
Heather Ann Thompson,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
-
On the brink of dropping a third straight game — and potentially slashing the team’s hopes of a run in March — Mark Mitchell rescued his Missouri Tigers with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer as the clock expired in Columbia.—
Maddie Hartley,
Kansas City Star,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
After 10 weeks without food, Muraisi is experiencing involuntary muscular twitching and severe chest pains, according to Prisoners for Palestine, with her doctors warning of possible cardiovascular collapse.—
Kara Fox,
CNN Money,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Patients first experience twitching or weakness in a limb, as Decker did.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
PEOPLE,
16 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flailing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flailing. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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