Synonyms of flails

flails 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of flail

1

as in flutters

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

• flutters
• flaps
• whips
• flops
• waves
• swings
• smacks
• sways
• beats
• flicks
• thumps
• knocks
• bangs
• flits
• oscillates
• flickers
• pounds
• spanks
• undulates
• throbs
• fans
• batters
• pulses
• buffets
• palpitates

2

as in whips

to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible

gruesome evidence that the prisoner had been flailed

Synonyms & Similar Words

• whips
• hides
• slashes
• thrashes
• flicks
• slaps
• switches
• hits
• flogs
• lashes
• knocks
• spanks
• flagellates
• punches
• scourges
• cuts
• smacks
• licks
• mauls
• leathers
• whacks
• bangs
• tans
• whales
• pounds
• bats
• horsewhips
• claps
• straps
• clips
• swipes
• thumps
• birches
• beats
• swats
• cowhides
• rawhides
• canes
• thwacks
• smites
• quirts
• boxes
• bashes
• clubs
• bops
• bludgeons
• pummels
• hammers
• clobbers
• pelts
• threshes
• paddles
• clouts
• touches up
• socks
• cracks
• cudgels
• mangles
• pastes
• lams
• belts
• knouts
• wallops
• cuffs
• lambastes
• belabors
• lathers
• slugs
• slogs
• batters
• slates
• bastes
• roughs
• tromps
• works over
• busts
• fustigates
• blackjacks
• buffets
• laces
• pommels
• drubs
• whups
• fibs
• whops
• pistol-whips
• bungs

flails

2 of 2

noun

plural of flail

as in bludgeons

Related Words

• bludgeons
• canes
• batons
• nightsticks
• cudgels
• bats
• billies
• staffs
• billy clubs
• straps
• quirts
• bastinadoes
• whips
• crops
• bullwhips
• rattans
• hickories
• birches
• clubs
• knouts
• rawhides
• blacksnakes
• floggers
• cowhides
• cat-o'-nine-tails
• switches
• lashes
• scourges

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of flails

Verb

Onscreen, his protagonists go out of their way to avoid actively engaging with their emotions, while the tone flails wildly from the surreal to the romantic. — James Marsh, Variety, 3 Nov. 2026

Their good fortune is picking up speed, as the increasingly sclerotic and daft president furiously flails. — Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026

As the economy flails and the war in Iraq wages on, 58% of people disapprove of the president, according to a New York Times aggregation of polls. — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Sep. 2026

While Rhaenyra flails from one problem to the next, Ormund plots and schemes and uses his wits to undo his enemies. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

The movements are entirely reflexive, yet the arm that flails more predicts future handedness with a high level of accuracy. — Quanta Magazine, 13 July 2026

Some fans said the actor instead resembled an early-PlayStation-era cutscene character who robotically flails his limbs upon impact. — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 13 May 2026

Premiums are poised to rise next year as the party flails on whether to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies. — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 16 Dec. 2025

The 16-year-old flails her arms, thrashes and kicks — sometimes for hours. — Calmatters, Oc Register, 5 Dec. 2025