as in spreading
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 splaying
Bob came out, blinking his eyes hard and closing his big fists tight, splaying his fingers back out in a pink baby starfish.
—
Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2025
Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for splaying
Verb
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Separate the spreading root system by cutting or pulling it apart into several sections.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
29 Sep. 2025
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Berners-Lee was spreading his wings, too.—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Whereas traditional nuclear fission energy creates power by splitting atoms, fusion uses heat to create energy by melding them together.—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
2 Oct. 2025
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Last season, though, Vegas started deploying its top defensemen a bit differently, splitting the toughest minutes between Pietrangelo, Shea Theodore, Noah Hanifin and Brayden McNabb.—
The Athletic NHL,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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What had seemed an impossible task transformed into a practical matter of six little arrows, radiating around a central concept.—
Zadie Smith,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
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Along with users telling her to appreciate every second, others took a moment to admire the pure joy radiating from Luna and her family.—
Natalia Senanayake,
PEOPLE,
14 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Splaying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/splaying. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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