as in flapping
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1
as in fluttering
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 whipping
to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible
gruesome evidence that the prisoner had been flailed
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Recent Examples of flailing
Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, 11 Apr. 2026
But his role was not to fix a flailing business, but, rather, to keep a roaring flame alive.
—José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 4 Mar. 2026
Somatic shaking involves a few minutes of fast, energetic movement like jumping, arm flailing, and foot stomping.
—Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 2 Mar. 2026
Not only are customers being driven mad by the bots getting orders completely wrong, but even some company executives are also being worn down by the flailing effort.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 26 Feb. 2026
But even if part of the point is to show that healing doesn’t happen overnight, the catharsis is too vague to reward all the flailing distress.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 Feb. 2026
And so too is his slightly flailing, vaguely desperate, going-for-it run, typified by his hair falling out of place and the sense that this man is fundamentally, for all his money and celebrity, some guy trying to get from one place to another.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025
Morant appears to be at odds with Memphis brass, and has already been suspended by his own flailing team once this season for appearing to question his head coach.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Nov. 2025
Cernan, the junior pilot, was outside, dangling—actually spinning, tumbling, and flailing—at the end of a long umbilical cord, completely unable to control his movements.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 11 Nov. 2025
Guy Lodge, Variety, 16 May 2026
On The Comeback, the flailing sitcom actress Valerie Cherish (played by Lisa Kudrow) is accustomed to sacrificing her dignity for the spotlight.
—Caroline Framke, The Atlantic, 14 May 2026
Colorado spent six innings flailing away against Skenes before Mickey Moniak's sinking line-drive single to left-center with one out in the seventh.
—CBS News, 13 May 2026
Colorado spent six innings flailing away against Skenes before Mickey Moniak's sinking line-drive single to left-center with one out in the seventh.
—ABC News, 12 May 2026
The Wild turned a corner scrum on the Avs’ side of the ice into a loose puck in front of Wedgie’s crease, and Minnesota’s Marcus Johansson slipped it past the Avs’ flailing netminder to trim the deficit to 3-1.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 4 May 2026
While fans had long been advocating for Bravo to recruit Hubbard to save a flailing RHONY, the network instead is launching a Valley-esque spinoff led by Hubbard, Kyle Cook, and Amanda Batula called In the City.
—Tom Smyth, Vulture, 4 May 2026
Sensing hesitance as well as incompetence, coaches and players alike tried to sway the flailing fill-ins at every turn.
—Michael Silver, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2026
Starmer — who is facing relentless domestic criticism over a flailing economy and his appointment of the disgraced Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, while grappling with a surging far-right opposition — will be praying for a smooth visit.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 27 Apr. 2026
Noun
For all his bobbing and flailing, and sensitive shaping of the music, conductor Christian Capocaccia evinced little attention to singers.
—Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, 11 Apr. 2026
But his role was not to fix a flailing business, but, rather, to keep a roaring flame alive.
—José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 4 Mar. 2026
Somatic shaking involves a few minutes of fast, energetic movement like jumping, arm flailing, and foot stomping.
—Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 2 Mar. 2026
Not only are customers being driven mad by the bots getting orders completely wrong, but even some company executives are also being worn down by the flailing effort.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 26 Feb. 2026
But even if part of the point is to show that healing doesn’t happen overnight, the catharsis is too vague to reward all the flailing distress.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 Feb. 2026
And so too is his slightly flailing, vaguely desperate, going-for-it run, typified by his hair falling out of place and the sense that this man is fundamentally, for all his money and celebrity, some guy trying to get from one place to another.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025
Morant appears to be at odds with Memphis brass, and has already been suspended by his own flailing team once this season for appearing to question his head coach.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Nov. 2025
Cernan, the junior pilot, was outside, dangling—actually spinning, tumbling, and flailing—at the end of a long umbilical cord, completely unable to control his movements.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 11 Nov. 2025
Verb
As the two bond in short order, our previously flailing hero shapes up very quickly indeed, soon shedding his substance abuse problems and entering a healthy relationship with dreamy social worker Oscar (Diego Calva).
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 16 May 2026
On The Comeback, the flailing sitcom actress Valerie Cherish (played by Lisa Kudrow) is accustomed to sacrificing her dignity for the spotlight.
—Caroline Framke, The Atlantic, 14 May 2026
Colorado spent six innings flailing away against Skenes before Mickey Moniak's sinking line-drive single to left-center with one out in the seventh.
—CBS News, 13 May 2026
Colorado spent six innings flailing away against Skenes before Mickey Moniak's sinking line-drive single to left-center with one out in the seventh.
—ABC News, 12 May 2026
The Wild turned a corner scrum on the Avs’ side of the ice into a loose puck in front of Wedgie’s crease, and Minnesota’s Marcus Johansson slipped it past the Avs’ flailing netminder to trim the deficit to 3-1.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 4 May 2026
While fans had long been advocating for Bravo to recruit Hubbard to save a flailing RHONY, the network instead is launching a Valley-esque spinoff led by Hubbard, Kyle Cook, and Amanda Batula called In the City.
—Tom Smyth, Vulture, 4 May 2026
Sensing hesitance as well as incompetence, coaches and players alike tried to sway the flailing fill-ins at every turn.
—Michael Silver, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2026
Starmer — who is facing relentless domestic criticism over a flailing economy and his appointment of the disgraced Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, while grappling with a surging far-right opposition — will be praying for a smooth visit.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 27 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flailing
Noun
-
With the skin flapping, his words, not mine, the medical staff went full MacGyver on Buckberger.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Somatic shaking can look a little different from one person to the next, but usually involves a few minutes of wildly uncoordinated jumping, arm flapping, and foot stomping.—
Tom Gavin,
EverydayHealth.com,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Putting up a hummingbird feeder in your garden or on your balcony or porch is a way to entice these fast-fluttering birds to visit.—
Lauren David,
Better Homes & Gardens,
17 May 2026
-
Elke and Alysia started seeing the big bugs fluttering around in late April, and as their numbers grew through early May, the native rainbows started keying in on them more and more.—
Dac Collins,
Outdoor Life,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
Now imagine seeing like half a dozen road-going glizzies whipping around one of the most iconic tracks in all of motorsports.—
Matt Reigle OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
19 May 2026
-
It was delivered by the 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama, whose torso uncorked in a fit of frustration that sent his right elbow whipping toward Reid’s windpipe like a torpedo bat flying through the strike zone.—
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
Noun
-
It also has been roiled by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, stirring protests outside the venues and forcing organizers to clamp down on political flag-waving.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Apr. 2026
-
But the flag-waving takes on a different meaning in his tweet, making Sosa part of the propaganda machine.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Not every summer movie needs to be a mystery that unfolds hallway after hallway, with a creature hiding around every corner ready to pop out.—
Tracy Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
-
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 May 2026
Noun
-
Throughout the writhing and the screaming, Julia’s fortitude wears down a defiant Davina, whose history with Lovat feeds the moment.—
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Trump has also proposed slashing nearly $800 million from the park system’s roughly $3-billion operating budget.—
Jack Dolan,
Los Angeles Times,
18 May 2026
-
Boston alone has proposed slashing 568 positions in a budget proposal passed by the local school committee in March, resulting in slashes to currently vacant positions but also including hundreds of layoffs.—
Grace Zokovitch,
Boston Herald,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
Casting near banks and using a twitching technique can increase success during the hatch.—
Dac Collins,
Outdoor Life,
14 May 2026
-
During this phase, octopuses display visible twitching along with rapid changes in skin color and texture, per NPR.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flailing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flailing. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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