1
as in losing it
to yield to mental or emotional stress
a movie about a submarine captain who flips out when there's an emergency, leaving the crew to deal with it on their own
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in having a fit
to become very angry
when my wife saw that I had broken her great-grandmother's vase, she absolutely flipped out
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flipping (out)
Verb
-
At night, Yusuf goes back to his village, where his family is regularly brutalized by the local authorities, led by the snarling protomillenarian Captain Wingate (played by Robert Aramayo, whom some will recognize as the young actor who scored an upset win at the BAFTAs last month for I Swear).—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026 -
Activists have long made Maryland a cultural battleground over transit, with pushes for traffic-snarling bike lanes, and doomed infrastructure projects like the Red Line, described by former Governor Larry Hogan as a boondoggle.—
Torrey Snow,
Baltimore Sun,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Sidestep a financial wrangle if someone is melting down.—
Tribune Content Agency,
Baltimore Sun,
5 Jan. 2026
-
Explosions near the site had already damaged a high-voltage power line; Ukraine feared the failure of cooling systems that prevent nuclear fuel from melting down.—
Robin Wright,
New Yorker,
12 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
After years as a child and teen star, Moretz comes into her own as the leading lady, expressing an understandably selfish need to explore what could have been, at the risk of blowing up the wedding and her own relationships and friendships.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
17 Mar. 2026
-
The gap between the fan’s triumphant bald selfie and the trade blowing up was half an hour.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Wolverines responded by cracking triple digits in Thursday’s NCAA Tournament opener.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
21 Mar. 2026
-
The 37-year-old needed five stitches to his earlobe after the incident — but finished the show first, cracking jokes with blood streaming down the side of his face.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
That bottleneck, not the commissioning decline itself, is what’s choking the supply chain.—
Callum McLennan,
Variety,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Now, if only Herbert could stop choking in the playoffs.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
As the party was breaking up, officers reported hearing multiple gunshots near the home.—
Andrea Lucia,
CBS News,
23 Mar. 2026
-
The pair make several successful films before breaking up, both romantically and professionally.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The administration also decided to allow the up to 80,000 metric tons of low-tariff, lower-quality beef from Argentina to be imported to help keep grocery prices down, angering cattle ranchers who argue the decision will hurt domestic production and sales.—
Jennifer Jacobs,
CBS News,
17 Mar. 2026
-
The policy coincided with hurricane season, and relief efforts in states such as Missouri, North Carolina, and California were delayed, angering the public and, in many cases, their Republican representatives.—
Jonathan Blitzer,
New Yorker,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Old Man Ross over here is literally breaking down on the job.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Its acidity helps cut through grime, dissolving dirt and breaking down grease and mineral deposits.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
4 Mar. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Flipping (out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flipping%20%28out%29. Accessed 25 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
