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
Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, 11 Apr. 2026
But his role was not to fix a flailing business, but, rather, to keep a roaring flame alive.
—José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 4 Mar. 2026
Somatic shaking involves a few minutes of fast, energetic movement like jumping, arm flailing, and foot stomping.
—Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 2 Mar. 2026
Not only are customers being driven mad by the bots getting orders completely wrong, but even some company executives are also being worn down by the flailing effort.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 26 Feb. 2026
But even if part of the point is to show that healing doesn’t happen overnight, the catharsis is too vague to reward all the flailing distress.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 Feb. 2026
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
Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 19 Apr. 2026
The force was enough to send Romero flailing to the turf, bringing out a yellow card.
—Kyle Kensing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2026
On an odd-man rush, Bratt scored the go-ahead goal from the left circle off a perfect pass from Jack Hughes in the right circle with John Gibson flailing around in an attempt to stop the puck.
—CBS News, 11 Apr. 2026
Who this kind of testing is really for Exceptional online testing isn’t restricted to jittery grade-schoolers flailing in traditional classrooms.
—Lucy Jones
april 11, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2026
Since then, the basketball program has grown from a flailing handcar to the little engine that could to a freight train.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 4 Apr. 2026
In a video captured by beach-goers, Phan was seen rushing to the shoreline to untangle the flailing predator.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 3 Apr. 2026
In addition to serving as a showrunner, Levy stars as Nicky, an openly gay pastor who gets wrapped up in a shady underworld plot with his flailing sister Morgan (Taylor Ortega).
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Apr. 2026
Keeping her American accent, Sink’s Shakespearen cadence does not emanate as naturally, but her earnest delivery and flailing hand gestures deliver an awkward, uncertain, truly young Juliet that is not often seen.
—Ellise Shafer, Variety, 1 Apr. 2026
Noun
For all his bobbing and flailing, and sensitive shaping of the music, conductor Christian Capocaccia evinced little attention to singers.
—Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, 11 Apr. 2026
But his role was not to fix a flailing business, but, rather, to keep a roaring flame alive.
—José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 4 Mar. 2026
Somatic shaking involves a few minutes of fast, energetic movement like jumping, arm flailing, and foot stomping.
—Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 2 Mar. 2026
Not only are customers being driven mad by the bots getting orders completely wrong, but even some company executives are also being worn down by the flailing effort.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 26 Feb. 2026
But even if part of the point is to show that healing doesn’t happen overnight, the catharsis is too vague to reward all the flailing distress.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 Feb. 2026
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
Verb
Officials assessed McCollum a technical foul for inadvertently kicking Brunson below the belt while flailing his leg on a fadeaway jump shot in the Knicks’ Game 1 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 19 Apr. 2026
The force was enough to send Romero flailing to the turf, bringing out a yellow card.
—Kyle Kensing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2026
On an odd-man rush, Bratt scored the go-ahead goal from the left circle off a perfect pass from Jack Hughes in the right circle with John Gibson flailing around in an attempt to stop the puck.
—CBS News, 11 Apr. 2026
Who this kind of testing is really for Exceptional online testing isn’t restricted to jittery grade-schoolers flailing in traditional classrooms.
—Lucy Jones
april 11, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2026
Since then, the basketball program has grown from a flailing handcar to the little engine that could to a freight train.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 4 Apr. 2026
In a video captured by beach-goers, Phan was seen rushing to the shoreline to untangle the flailing predator.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 3 Apr. 2026
In addition to serving as a showrunner, Levy stars as Nicky, an openly gay pastor who gets wrapped up in a shady underworld plot with his flailing sister Morgan (Taylor Ortega).
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Apr. 2026
Keeping her American accent, Sink’s Shakespearen cadence does not emanate as naturally, but her earnest delivery and flailing hand gestures deliver an awkward, uncertain, truly young Juliet that is not often seen.
—Ellise Shafer, Variety, 1 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flailing
Noun
-
With the skin flapping, his words, not mine, the medical staff went full MacGyver on Buckberger.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Somatic shaking can look a little different from one person to the next, but usually involves a few minutes of wildly uncoordinated jumping, arm flapping, and foot stomping.—
Tom Gavin,
EverydayHealth.com,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Kick your legs in small up-and-down fluttering motions while keeping your lower back flat and abs tight throughout.—
Jakob Roze,
Health,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Video from the scene hours after the fire first erupted showed ash fluttering through the air and burned paper in the yards of homes across the street from the warehouse.—
Joy Benedict,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Quié kept getting up, sitting down, calling out to people in the street, checking on the kitchen, and whipping out his phone to film promotional videos.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
-
As Aubry points out, Cirie is out there whipping votes and changing almost everyone’s minds.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
It also has been roiled by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, stirring protests outside the venues and forcing organizers to clamp down on political flag-waving.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Apr. 2026
-
But the flag-waving takes on a different meaning in his tweet, making Sosa part of the propaganda machine.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
They were later located hiding in a nearby neighborhood and taken into custody.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
23 Apr. 2026
-
For moms who sometimes resort to hiding in the closet to finish their chapters.—
Lit Hub Approved,
Literary Hub,
23 Apr. 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
-
She has been arrested for slashing her sister’s neck with a box cutter and biting the breast of a security guard outside a nightclub.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
21 Apr. 2026
-
While Sunbelt sellers are slashing prices to clear inventory, Ohio sellers are watching their equity grow.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
21 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
During this phase, octopuses display visible twitching along with rapid changes in skin color and texture, per NPR.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Gosnell did not testify at his 2013 trial, but his defense attorney argued that none of the fetuses were born alive and that any movements were posthumous twitching or spasms, according to the AP.—
Greg Norman-Diamond,
FOXNews.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flailing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flailing. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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