as in whipping
to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible
some medieval monks believed it was necessary to flagellate themselves in order to keep their desires in check
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flagellating
Verb
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Boaters were the last to be warned to watch the sky as a line of wind-whipping storms pushed out to sea.—
Joe Dwinell,
Boston Herald,
7 Sep. 2025 -
Golden State usually opens games whipping the ball around and making teams uncomfortable with its aggressive style of defense.—
Nathan Canilao,
Mercury News,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But this chassis could be the ultimate mainstream case for cable-hiding showoffs.—
Thomas Soderstrom,
PC Magazine,
13 Sep. 2025
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Some are found lurking in remote corners of the world, while others have been hiding right under our noses.—
Real-Time News team,
Miami Herald,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The luxury furniture retailer fell roughly 8% in premarket trading after slashing its annual revenue outlook.—
Michelle Fox,
CNBC,
12 Sep. 2025
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Despite the shock loss, Milei has vowed no changes to his divisive agenda, which has reshaped Argentina’s economy, slashing inflation while boosting growth.—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But when this lashing out becomes regular, the partner on the receiving end will start to expect their character to be attacked just as regularly.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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The company destroyed a piece of lashing wire that investigators believe slapped an Xcel electrical conductor and caused arcing that led to the fire, said Matthew Delinko with Bauman, Lowe, Witt & Maxwell, a law firm representing insurance companies.—
Noelle Phillips,
Denver Post,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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While you guys had staff inside laughing, pointing and even flicking off the crowd outside.—
Megan Cartwright,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Democratic Party brand is in the gutter and at least one of its aspiring standard bearers is settling for chasing his own ambitions instead of trying to effectively pump life into the flailing party.—
Matt Fleming,
Oc Register,
6 Sep. 2025
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Our solidarity with the core values and aspirations of Connecticut residents explains why Democrats have been growing our legislative majorities since 2018 while Republicans have been shrinking, flailing and failing.—
Martin M. Looney,
Hartford Courant,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The Black Death and its aftermath saw a great resurgence of apocalyptic flagellation, with thousands of adherents flogging themselves up and down the Continent (the movement failed to take off in England, which figures).—
Michael Robbins,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Flagellating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flagellating. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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