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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Along the western side, crews will work along the Sycamore Ridge Road to prevent the fire from spreading south and west.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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Work from the outside edges to keep the stain from spreading.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Part of what made that deal possible was Chelsea’s owners splitting their women’s team from their men’s and selling a minority stake.—
Asli Pelit,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
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In her later years, Keating was a snowbird, splitting her time between Massachusetts and Palm Springs, California.—
Dakin Andone,
CNN Money,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Lights appeared up ahead, radiating energy like celestial bodies.—
Manuel Muñoz,
Literary Hub,
11 Sep. 2025
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Instead of sound radiating out at all angles, the sound is redirected by solid glass upwards to initially dissipate vertically instead of horizontally.—
Todd Boss,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Splaying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/splaying. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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