1
as in hiding
to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible
a graphic depiction of a sailor being flogged by the captain for disobeying orders
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in licking
to strike repeatedly
was fined heavily for flogging a horse
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in shuffling
British
to move heavily or clumsily
for most of the night, searchers flogged through the marsh, crying out for the lost child
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in struggling
British
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
ignoring the groans and catcalls that his speech was provoking, the backbencher flogged away
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in whipping
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flogging
Bianca Davino, Refinery29, 7 Oct. 2025
The only thing tougher to watch than the Bengals’ offense on Sunday was Browning flogging himself over the failure.
—Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
The Black Death and its aftermath saw a great resurgence of apocalyptic flagellation, with thousands of adherents flogging themselves up and down the Continent (the movement failed to take off in England, which figures).
—Michael Robbins, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Noun
Others have called out the boring marketing campaign based around flogging variants in order for Swift to finally beat the record for the biggest opening sales week for a female artist in history (currently held by Adele, which she is likely projected to break).
—Bianca Davino, Refinery29, 7 Oct. 2025
The only thing tougher to watch than the Bengals’ offense on Sunday was Browning flogging himself over the failure.
—Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
The Black Death and its aftermath saw a great resurgence of apocalyptic flagellation, with thousands of adherents flogging themselves up and down the Continent (the movement failed to take off in England, which figures).
—Michael Robbins, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flogging
Verb
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In one short, a young Stuckmann, dressed as Harrison Ford's lasso-whipping adventurer, jumps onto the back of a moving car.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Mash as desired, either with a potato masher or by whipping with an electric mixer.—
Elizabeth Nelson,
Southern Living,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Collins is no doubt licking his chops studying tape of another Patriots rookie, left guard Jared Wilson, who allowed two sacks last weekend.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
23 Oct. 2025
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Chirping is also a friendly call for attention, while gentle nipping and licking mimic grooming rituals.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The technology included corrupt automatic shuffling machines that read cards and predicted which player had the best hand.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
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Card-reading contact lenses, X-ray poker tables, trays of poker chips that read cards, hacked shuffling machines that predict hands.—
Rob Wile,
NBC news,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Six of their big chances came against struggling Forest, with Newcastle converting just one of those, while four more came in the wild 3-2 defeat against Liverpool.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
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Despite rapid growth, many marketers remain in the early stages of maturity—focused on automating legacy processes and struggling to measure ROI.—
Sheryl Estrada,
Fortune,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The tactical tweak resulted in Liverpool’s winning a game by more than two goals for the first time since the 5-1 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield in April which sealed the Premier League title.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
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How to Watch Memphis vs UAB Memphis returns from a bye following a 45-7 thrashing of Tulsa that improved the Tigers to 2-0 in The American.—
Kilty Cleary,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The small black dog slipped away from its owners and ended up hiding under a northbound 2 train at the 14th Street station Thursday.—
Sophia Compton,
FOXNews.com,
25 Oct. 2025
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The episode ends with Matty officially agreeing to work with Olympia to save Julian and bury Senior, though Matty has some demands, including wanting Julian — once all the dust has settled — to apologize for hiding the document.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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What To Know The Philippines' inter-agency National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea on Monday released drone footage showing a Chinese coast guard ship lashing a Philippine boat with its water cannon.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
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Coastal areas of suburban Long Island could see flooding, with up to 3 inches (about 8 centimeters) of rain and lashing winds expected, the weather service said.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The sound of her stomping up the staircase causes her parents to share a look of weary consternation.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Oct. 2025
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But only the faithful know everything about the Mushroom Kingdom’s shell-stomping messiah.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
18 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flogging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flogging. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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