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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
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
Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon called a timeout with five seconds remaining and Jackie Young flailing — wanting to ensure that the Aces got the final shot of the game — and Hammon put the ball in her MVP’s hands.
—Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
Clark, who knelt beside Foo 30 years ago when the surfer was pulled lifeless from the sea, watched Slebir’s epic ride that day from the back of a Sea-Doo, set up to pull flailing surfers aboard.
—Julia Prodis Sulek, Mercury News, 13 Sep. 2025
On the ground in Wedgewood Houston, a tiny bird fought an army of enclosing fire ants, wildly kicking and flailing.
—Audrey Gibbs, Nashville Tennessean, 9 Sep. 2025
The last one, right below the zone, had Crow-Armstrong flailing to end the frame.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2025
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
The room sighs in relief a second later when Buckley reanimates, jerking and flailing like a soul possessed, grinning maniacally — all on purpose, inspired by the earlier veil snafu.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Feb. 2026
Milwaukee is absolutely flailing, as Doc Rivers teams do when the end is near.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2026
Meanwhile, after spending billions of dollars to hire AI experts last summer, Meta appears to be flailing in its efforts to produce new models out of the company’s new Superintelligence Labs.
—Peter Cohan, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
But this time there also are tangible targets for the Heat and the rest of the league, with Ja Morant’s contretemps with the Memphis Grizzlies, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s flailing supporting cast with the Milwaukee Bucks and Anthony Davis’ likely parting from the Dallas Mavericks.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 26 Jan. 2026
The movie’s flailing cops attempt to contain the impact.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 22 Jan. 2026
The human figures – no faces, just limbs flailing about – are all in the midst of some unseemly activity.
—Douglas Markowitz, Miami Herald, 21 Jan. 2026
Noun
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
Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon called a timeout with five seconds remaining and Jackie Young flailing — wanting to ensure that the Aces got the final shot of the game — and Hammon put the ball in her MVP’s hands.
—Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
Clark, who knelt beside Foo 30 years ago when the surfer was pulled lifeless from the sea, watched Slebir’s epic ride that day from the back of a Sea-Doo, set up to pull flailing surfers aboard.
—Julia Prodis Sulek, Mercury News, 13 Sep. 2025
On the ground in Wedgewood Houston, a tiny bird fought an army of enclosing fire ants, wildly kicking and flailing.
—Audrey Gibbs, Nashville Tennessean, 9 Sep. 2025
The last one, right below the zone, had Crow-Armstrong flailing to end the frame.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2025
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
The room sighs in relief a second later when Buckley reanimates, jerking and flailing like a soul possessed, grinning maniacally — all on purpose, inspired by the earlier veil snafu.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Feb. 2026
Milwaukee is absolutely flailing, as Doc Rivers teams do when the end is near.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2026
Meanwhile, after spending billions of dollars to hire AI experts last summer, Meta appears to be flailing in its efforts to produce new models out of the company’s new Superintelligence Labs.
—Peter Cohan, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
But this time there also are tangible targets for the Heat and the rest of the league, with Ja Morant’s contretemps with the Memphis Grizzlies, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s flailing supporting cast with the Milwaukee Bucks and Anthony Davis’ likely parting from the Dallas Mavericks.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 26 Jan. 2026
The movie’s flailing cops attempt to contain the impact.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 22 Jan. 2026
The human figures – no faces, just limbs flailing about – are all in the midst of some unseemly activity.
—Douglas Markowitz, Miami Herald, 21 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flailing
Noun
-
The doll also was given articulated elbows and wrists to acknowledge stimming, hand flapping and other gestures that some autistic people use to process sensory information or to express excitement, according to Mattel.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
12 Jan. 2026
-
The doll also was given articulated elbows and wrists to acknowledge stimming, hand flapping and other gestures that some people with autism use to process sensory information or to express excitement, according to Mattel.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
As the early swooning over Newsom suggests, some voters’ hearts are fluttering over the prospect of his candidacy.—
Bret Stephens,
Mercury News,
5 Feb. 2026
-
That’s the end result of an odd, hilarious scene that took place during the first period at UBS Arena, when Islanders forward Bo Horvat went to play a puck behind the Pittsburgh net and was joined by a small bird that was fluttering near the ice surface.—
Sean Gentille,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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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
Noun
-
Flag waving, immigration restriction, and culture-war rallying cries can shore up the MAGA-tech coalition, but more will be needed to achieve lasting success.—
Walter Russell Mead,
The Atlantic,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Assuming whatever creature birthed from a spider egg was also a shapeshifter would even allow the show to bring back everyone’s favorite dancing clown in a modern-day context without too much hand-waving.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
15 Dec. 2025
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
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
-
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
Noun
-
After 10 weeks without food, Muraisi is experiencing involuntary muscular twitching and severe chest pains, according to Prisoners for Palestine, with her doctors warning of possible cardiovascular collapse.—
Kara Fox,
CNN Money,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Patients first experience twitching or weakness in a limb, as Decker did.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
PEOPLE,
16 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flailing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flailing. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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