1
as in to scold
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
her husband flayed her constantly for her incessant shopping
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flay
And leather boots, barely-there flayed skirts, faux leather, faux ostrich feathers, and while crowds at Lollapalooza may edge ever closer to public nudity, Charli and her ongoing Brat Summer tour clearly inspired a cleavage arms race for the ages.
—
Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2025
If the robot, who frequently metamorphoses, gives shape to some form of justice, it’s flayed down to a name.
—Elisa Gonzalez, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
The upper fangs sank into Wyatt’s left cheek, just below his eye socket, the lower into his top lip and right nostril, flaying his face in four separate places.
—Malcolm Brooks Malcolm Hillgartner Krish Seenivasan Zak Mouton, New York Times, 31 Dec. 2024
The radical potential of the scene has mostly evaporated, flattened and flayed into vague signifiers.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 3 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for flay
Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2025
If the robot, who frequently metamorphoses, gives shape to some form of justice, it’s flayed down to a name.
—Elisa Gonzalez, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
The upper fangs sank into Wyatt’s left cheek, just below his eye socket, the lower into his top lip and right nostril, flaying his face in four separate places.
—Malcolm Brooks Malcolm Hillgartner Krish Seenivasan Zak Mouton, New York Times, 31 Dec. 2024
The radical potential of the scene has mostly evaporated, flattened and flayed into vague signifiers.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 3 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for flay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flay
Verb
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Some have also scolded Colossal for tinkering with genetics, but the tech firm insists its work will aid in the conservation and protection of endangered species.—
Mike Snider,
USA Today,
12 Aug. 2025
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With the camel’s back broken, Dorothy Scott, summoning all her righteous indignation (and channeled with maybe one-third of Audra McDonald’s extraordinary talent, which is still enough to power the city of Manhattan), lets the snobby scold have it.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
11 Aug. 2025
Verb
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In 1996, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr. got married outside a peeling white log cabin chapel on Cumberland Island, Georgia.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN Money,
14 Aug. 2025
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To make peeling easier, lightly crack the eggs as soon as they are done and shock them in an ice bath for 10 minutes.—
Cameron Beall,
Southern Living,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Two hours later, she was heard lecturing the children.—
Meredith Colias-Pete,
Chicago Tribune,
16 July 2025
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The single most on-the-nose sequence — though there are many — has an unrestrained Christopher Lloyd as a Holocaust survivor conveniently situated to lecture young Clay about the genocidal reality of his experience.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
15 July 2025
Verb
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If the committee finds the charges to be malicious, the accusers may also be reprimanded, suspended, removed from office or expelled.—
Liam Rappleye,
Freep.com,
6 Aug. 2025
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In October, Redstone publicly criticized McMahon's decision to reprimand CBS News morning anchor Tony Dokoupil over an interview with author Ta-Nehisi Coates.—
Alex Sherman,
CNBC,
19 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flay. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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