as in to whip
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
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Recent Examples of flagellate
Pop stars being badasses, as ever, but expressing doubt, and doing it without the flagellating self-destruction that might have come with an early iteration.
—
Susannah Felts, Longreads, 27 Apr. 2023
For Logan, none of these self-flagellating exercises mattered.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 23 Mar. 2023
One Peruvian candidate has taken time to talk about his habit of wearing a wire chain, known as a cilice, every day to flagellate himself.
—Star Tribune, 8 Apr. 2021
All are said to have had affairs with Lucian Freud (was there anyone who didn’t?), three with Arthur Koestler and one with Egypt’s King Farouk (who liked to flagellate her on the steps of the royal palace with his dressing-gown cord).
—Moira Hodgson, WSJ, 31 Jan. 2020
See All Example Sentences for flagellate
Susannah Felts, Longreads, 27 Apr. 2023
For Logan, none of these self-flagellating exercises mattered.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 23 Mar. 2023
One Peruvian candidate has taken time to talk about his habit of wearing a wire chain, known as a cilice, every day to flagellate himself.
—Star Tribune, 8 Apr. 2021
All are said to have had affairs with Lucian Freud (was there anyone who didn’t?), three with Arthur Koestler and one with Egypt’s King Farouk (who liked to flagellate her on the steps of the royal palace with his dressing-gown cord).
—Moira Hodgson, WSJ, 31 Jan. 2020
See All Example Sentences for flagellate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flagellate
Verb
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It’s inspired by a French silk pie, but without any eggs to whip.—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
12 Feb. 2026
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For season 1 of The Boss, InStyle Editor in Chief Sally Holmes taps Julia Fox (Uncut Gems, Him, The Moment) as the Temporary-Permanent Ambassador of Slayage in an effort to whip the InStyle team’s style into shape ahead of New York Fashion Week.—
InStyle Editors,
InStyle,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This means that bills get hearings, debates happen in public, and legislators are required to vote on issues instead of hiding behind process.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
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Maybe Mark Kelly and several other dissident members of Congress are hiding the sun in a big bag.—
Alexandra Petri,
The Atlantic,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Just as the trial for Samuel Patrick Groft was about to kick off, the 45-year-old instead pleaded no contest Wednesday to a slew of vandalism charges stemming from the seven-day slashing rampage.—
Grace Toohey,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Feb. 2026
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And boosting, not slashing, anti-hunger programs.—
Laura Washington,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Speccie’s star columnist is the rudest man in Christendom, the Godzilla of contumely, an all-time non-sufferer of fools who horsewhips his targets the way Hunter S. Thompson and Christopher Hitchens once did.—
Kyle Smith,
National Review,
23 Apr. 2020
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In reality, Watson wasn’t a bar fighter or famous for horsewhipping cowboys.—
Eliza McGraw,
Smithsonian,
12 Mar. 2018
Verb
-
Trump later lashed out in response to Carney’s speech.—
Tiago Ventura,
Time,
13 Feb. 2026
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Hard Truths premiered at the 2024 Toronto Film Festival and followed Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Pansy, an angry and depressed woman who lashes out at family and strangers, and whose constant criticism slowly isolates her.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The texture play looks cool and intentional, like an all-black outfit that layers leather with silk.—
Samantha Brash,
InStyle,
8 Feb. 2026
-
All thoughtfully designed with custom touches— from minibars designed as leather campaign chests to leather writing tables accentuating the space.—
Jessica Chapel,
Condé Nast Traveler,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The hanging quickly devolves into an all-out bacchanal, as onlookers drink, dance and kiss in the square surrounding the flailing corpse.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
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Their premise is that international-relations scholars are flailing in part because they’re trained to think of their field, as its name implies, as affairs between and among states.—
Andreas Kluth,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The media flagged and flogged it for AI incompetence.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
25 Jan. 2026
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Examples include a husband having the legal right to restrict his wife’s travel and employment, unequal divorce rights and punishment for appearing in public without a hijab ranging from fines to prison time to flogging.—
Ellie Austin,
Fortune,
21 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flagellate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flagellate. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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