as in to spread
to cause to move outward and apart
He sat with his legs splayed apart. She splayed her fingers to show off her manicure.
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Recent Examples of splay
Tendrils hang loosely in the front, it's pulled to different levels of tautness around her head, and the ends splay out, creating a too-cool-to-care look.
—
Marci Robin, Allure, 20 Jan. 2026
The entire western-facing wall of the house is glass—the valley and forest splayed out before us, in every shade of green imaginable.
—Devorah Lev-Tov, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Jan. 2026
Across the boat, a young guy with thin lips and a sweater tied around his shoulders leans back and splays his legs.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Jan. 2026
The Riverwalk in Fort Lauderdale splays out in full shade from the condo buildings and strips of golden sun.
—Eric Barton, Sun Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for splay
Marci Robin, Allure, 20 Jan. 2026
The entire western-facing wall of the house is glass—the valley and forest splayed out before us, in every shade of green imaginable.
—Devorah Lev-Tov, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Jan. 2026
Across the boat, a young guy with thin lips and a sweater tied around his shoulders leans back and splays his legs.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Jan. 2026
The Riverwalk in Fort Lauderdale splays out in full shade from the condo buildings and strips of golden sun.
—Eric Barton, Sun Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for splay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for splay
Verb
-
After supporting the health and livelihood of people in Kenya and Rwanda through medication, the shutdown of the USAID program has left these people susceptible to various illnesses that spread since there are no medications available.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Each seasonal series has three workshops and a field trip spread over two days.—
Hema Sivanandam,
Mercury News,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The title game will be March 4 at Unrivaled’s home arena in Miami, with a prize pool of $600,000 to be split among players from the championship-winning club.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Britain split away on the second leg, looking for better wind.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Splay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/splay. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
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