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
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flagellating
Verb
-
Before Katherine LaNasa was whipping the ER into shape as Nurse Dana on The Pitt, the actress made a memorable impression on Seinfeld viewers.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Feb. 2026 -
Legacy of Monsters, complete with a monster tail whipping across half the room.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Both teens are hiding secrets; Johnny, a potentially devastating injury and Shannon, a troubled and violent homelife.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
11 Feb. 2026
-
The discovery of unusually warm molecular hydrogen in these LLAGN is a testament to the unexpected complexity hiding in plain sight.—
Paul Sutter,
Space.com,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Some proponents argue that if those interest rates were capped, banks could simply absorb those losses by accepting lower profits or slashing their marketing budgets.—
Rogé Karma,
The Atlantic,
10 Feb. 2026
-
The company has largely outmuscled global behemoth Starbucks in China by slashing prices and offering a menu featuring a huge variety of options to cater to local tastes.—
Prashant Rao,
semafor.com,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The carnivorous mammal's teeth-baring image suggests a wilderness pushed to the margins and lashing out.—
Felicia Feaster,
AJC.com,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Vance often has served as an attack dog for the administration, including lashing out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during an Oval Office visit.—
Zac Anderson,
USA Today,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Alijah Arenas switched between his forehand shot and backhand, flicking the plastic ball over the net to his opponent, former NBA star Brandon Jennings.—
Haley Sawyer,
Oc Register,
20 Jan. 2026
-
While the horses were flicking sand like fireworks.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
In videos shared to social media, Beard, 52, can be seen stepping onto the court while yelling, pointing and flailing his arms.—
Desiree Anello,
PEOPLE,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
Others have called out the boring marketing campaign based around flogging variants in order for Swift to finally beat the record for the biggest opening sales week for a female artist in history (currently held by Adele, which she is likely projected to break).—
Bianca Davino,
Refinery29,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Sometimes the figure tries and fails to stand up, slapping itself with floppy, almost boneless limbs.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Part of the answer seems to be more brands willing to make early commitments that actually matter (and not just slapping logos on things) but investing in the media infrastructure that lets fans watch and follow women’s sports in the first place.—
Kimberly Wilson,
Essence,
26 Jan. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Flagellating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flagellating. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
