Thesaurus results for FLAILED

flailed

verb

past tense of flail

as in flapped

to move or cause to move with a striking motion started to flail his arms wildly when he spied a bat in the house

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in whipped

to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible gruesome evidence that the prisoner had been flailed

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of flailed The man hugged a bag, the woman shouted and flailed her arms, and the young teenage boy pulled at his sister, who seemed stupefied. — Literary Hub, 21 July 2026 Belgium’s Hans Vanaken thumped it into the goal past defender Tim Ream, who flailed lamely as Belgium scored. — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 7 July 2026 Another turn in a winning season that would have seemed improbable two months ago, when the Phillies flailed and manager Rob Thomson lost his job. — Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 27 June 2026 Crow-Armstrong flailed and pounded the offering into the ground. — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 8 June 2026 The 7-foot-4 phenom then flailed his right arm back and struck Reid in the neck. — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 11 May 2026 The Braves were a ratings hit, and when the team flailed and went up for sale, Turner’s company became its owner in 1976. — Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026 Gorman flailed at a 96 mph full-count four-seamer. — Matt Kawahara, Houston Chronicle, 19 Apr. 2026 After being placed in a government vehicle, Ferreira Borges allegedly kicked, flailed, and screamed obscenities at officers, officials said. — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 17 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for flailed

Verb

Above the dancers flapped a ring of American flags, each representing a military veteran from the community who had passed away.

— Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
Luna then tried to jump over Sandy to get back into the bowl of the nest, but Sandy lost her balance and flapped down to the lower branches.

— Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 16 July 2026

Definition of flapped

Verb

Cheese foam is a smooth and slightly salty whipped foam topping popular in boba drinks.

— Emma Hall, Sacbee.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Outside a fierce storm lashed down, wind whipped against the wood planks, thunder shook the ground, water streamed through cracks and floated into the shack.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of whipped

Verb

All around them, guests smiled and laughed as children screamed with excitement and giggled each time a butterfly fluttered close.

— Sophia Buonpane, Kansas City Star, 1 Aug. 2026
Young people fluttered about, wearing custom white T-shirts emblazoned with the festival’s retro cartoon-style poster art.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026

Definition of fluttered

Verb

Keshad Johnson weighs in In moving from a standard contract to a two-way contract, Heat forward Keshad Johnson is seeing his salary slashed from last season’s $2 million to $678,882 — a 66% cut.

— Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2026
The Vaccine Integrity Project said last fall’s COVID-19 shots cut the risk of hospitalization by 53% in seniors and slashed emergency room visits for very young children.

— Lauran Neergaard, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of slashed

Verb

Outside a fierce storm lashed down, wind whipped against the wood planks, thunder shook the ground, water streamed through cracks and floated into the shack.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Sep. 2026
In the same series of Sunday morning posts, the president also lashed out at Kristen Welker, the moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press, for saying his endorsements of Republican candidates in primary elections this year had shown mixed results.

— Jeff Mason, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of lashed

Verb

Over two hours away through miles of dense forest, before any stadium lights flicked on in Summit at Southwest Mississippi Community College, Nolan’s coaches and teammates found several ways to remember their promising recruit Thursday.

— Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026
Near the left corner of the 6-yard box, Pereyra turned and flicked a shot inside the back post.

— ABC News, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of flicked

Verb

The flooding on the canyon floor started Saturday afternoon after waves of rainfall thrashed Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch – the only lodging under the rim of the Grand Canyon.

— Maria Aguilar Prieto, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
With star quarterback Len Dawson playing into the third quarter even after the Chiefs had a 39-10 halftime lead, the Chiefs thrashed legendary coach George Halas’ Bears 66-24.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of thrashed

Verb

While outlining the details of Clancy's suicide attempt, Reddington slapped a quarter on the table and addressed the prosecutors in what appeared to be a direct challenge to the state.

— Sumiko Corley, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2026
Over the years, the United States has slapped Iran with countless sanctions targeting its banking system, shipping companies, oil industry and military.

— Mustafa Qadri, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of slapped

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flail

flailed

flailing

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“Flailed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flailed. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of flailed

verb

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