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
When an ice storm is in the forecast, support plants with weak branches that are susceptible to splaying or breaking, like arborvitae and 'Sky Pencil' holly.
—
Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 4 Feb. 2026
Weah often stayed high, with Miles Robinson splaying out to the right touchline in a traditional right fullback position.
—Paul Tenorio, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
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
Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 4 Feb. 2026
Weah often stayed high, with Miles Robinson splaying out to the right touchline in a traditional right fullback position.
—Paul Tenorio, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for splaying
Verb
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But a few weeks into his vacation across the Atlantic Ocean, the Oregon doctor jumped into action caring for passengers after a deadly hantavirus outbreak began spreading through the ship, sickening the vessel’s doctor.—
Lex Harvey,
CNN Money,
8 May 2026
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In spreading the wealth to a wider swath of hardware companies, investors are clearly betting that the bull market in AI has long legs and that data centers are going to need a wider array of advanced components for years to come.—
Samantha Subin,
CNBC,
8 May 2026
Verb
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The commissioners differed on how this should work, splitting into three broad camps with some overlap and intersection particular issues.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 May 2026
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The tree branches are also weakly attached to the trunks and prone to splitting apart during storms and harsh weather events, Zieche said.—
Jerry Wu,
Chicago Tribune,
11 May 2026
Verb
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That required segmenting the coil and inserting electronics within it to keep it from radiating its energy away like an antenna.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
30 Apr. 2026
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On the ceiling, where the nave and transept intersect, there will be a depiction of the Holy Spirit as a dove with radiating light and flames.—
Victoria Le,
Oc Register,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Splaying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/splaying. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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