1
as in to flutter
to move or cause to move with a striking motion
started to flail his arms wildly when he spied a bat in the house
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2
as in to whip
to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible
gruesome evidence that the prisoner had been flailed
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flail
Steve Earley, Baltimore Sun, 10 Apr. 2025
That hasn’t kept teams from flailing for Flagg, the ACC’s player of the year and a candidate for national player of the year.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 28 Mar. 2025
The film follows a 40-year-old executive who hopes to save his flailing career by joining a group of twentysomethings on a wild three-day bachelor party, after he’s inadvertently added to their group text.
—Justin Kroll, Deadline, 24 Mar. 2025
The flailing support comes as aggressive and sweeping tariffs have sparked a global trade war and sunk U.S. stocks.
—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flail
Verb
Miller and Rice pull a yelling and flailing Gray out of the van.
—Steve Earley, Baltimore Sun, 10 Apr. 2025
That hasn’t kept teams from flailing for Flagg, the ACC’s player of the year and a candidate for national player of the year.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 28 Mar. 2025
The film follows a 40-year-old executive who hopes to save his flailing career by joining a group of twentysomethings on a wild three-day bachelor party, after he’s inadvertently added to their group text.
—Justin Kroll, Deadline, 24 Mar. 2025
The flailing support comes as aggressive and sweeping tariffs have sparked a global trade war and sunk U.S. stocks.
—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flail
Verb
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His shot from just beyond the left circle deflected off Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly before fluttering past goaltender Joseph Woll and into the net.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
10 May 2025
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The red and yellow of Vietnam’s national flag was everywhere in the city — fluttering from buildings, painted on the faces of eager teenagers and on the T-shirts of those who had traveled to the city from all over the country.—
Aniruddha Ghosal,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Instead, as Gauff belied her recent struggles on her forehand side by whipping the ball up and down into the court and out of her opponent’s easy reach time and again, Świątek looked adrift.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
1 May 2025
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After the animal snapped and whipped its tail, Dragich wrangled the gator onto the shoulder of the highway.—
Charna Flam,
People.com,
1 May 2025
Noun
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Peace in Ukraine and the Middle East is proving to be far harder to achieve than the real estate deals envisaged by the president, while the bludgeon of tariffs is raising ever more opposition among erstwhile allies.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
Newsweek,
25 Mar. 2025
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Mishra then abruptly juxtaposes a scene from Gaza, flush with heavy-handed language that bludgeons home his comparison.—
Franklin Foer,
The Atlantic,
26 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The doves in the poignant, almost twenty-five-hundred-year-old sculpture look very much like the pigeons walking and flapping around the museum’s plaza along Fifth Avenue, out front.—
Ian Frazier,
New Yorker,
5 May 2025
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From their Alaskan breeding grounds, the curlews will make an epic migration of at least 2,500 miles to northwestern Hawaii—and some will even flap as far as the South Pacific, tacking an additional 1,250 miles onto their journey.—
Carlyn Kranking,
Smithsonian Magazine,
15 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Each level is also absolutely crawling with secret collectibles hidden in various nooks and crannies, which often tease you with a glimpse through a hole in some impassable wall or rock formation.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
9 May 2025
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Lastly, clean up any rotting wood or loose leaves from your property to give these ants fewer places to hide.—
Lauren Thomann,
Better Homes & Gardens,
9 May 2025
Noun
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Thomas’ case later became a flashpoint in the turbulent tenure of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, amid claims that the county’s top prosecutor used her office as a political cudgel against Thomas’ attorney on the eve of trial.—
Jakob Rodgers,
Mercury News,
27 Apr. 2025
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Too often, schools and districts wield data as a punitive cudgel rather than a tool for improvement.—
Scott White,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The budget also calls for slashing $6 billion for EV chargers.—
Matthew Glasser,
ABC News,
2 May 2025
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That was a reference, of course, to Elon Musk, whose DOGE actions slashing longstanding social services led her to donate her Tesla for charity, in a move that stirred up his supporters.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
2 May 2025
Noun
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Greer kicked him in the ribs, stomped on his head and picked up Snellings’ cane and hit the victim with it, Hoffman said.—
Emerson Clarridge,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 May 2025
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Some carried their work briefcases, some American flags, some walked with canes, and others were pushed in wheelchairs…304,000 of them had been wounded in Vietnam.—
Stan Godlewski,
Hartford Courant,
3 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flail. Accessed 15 May. 2025.
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