1
as in to scold
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
her husband flayed her constantly for her incessant shopping
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flay
And leather boots, barely-there flayed skirts, faux leather, faux ostrich feathers, and while crowds at Lollapalooza may edge ever closer to public nudity, Charli and her ongoing Brat Summer tour clearly inspired a cleavage arms race for the ages.
—
Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2025
If the robot, who frequently metamorphoses, gives shape to some form of justice, it’s flayed down to a name.
—Elisa Gonzalez, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
The upper fangs sank into Wyatt’s left cheek, just below his eye socket, the lower into his top lip and right nostril, flaying his face in four separate places.
—Malcolm Brooks Malcolm Hillgartner Krish Seenivasan Zak Mouton, New York Times, 31 Dec. 2024
The radical potential of the scene has mostly evaporated, flattened and flayed into vague signifiers.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 3 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for flay
Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2025
If the robot, who frequently metamorphoses, gives shape to some form of justice, it’s flayed down to a name.
—Elisa Gonzalez, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
The upper fangs sank into Wyatt’s left cheek, just below his eye socket, the lower into his top lip and right nostril, flaying his face in four separate places.
—Malcolm Brooks Malcolm Hillgartner Krish Seenivasan Zak Mouton, New York Times, 31 Dec. 2024
The radical potential of the scene has mostly evaporated, flattened and flayed into vague signifiers.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 3 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for flay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flay
Verb
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Whether this comes off as a joke or as an invitation for scolding (spoken or unspoken, loving or otherwise) depends entirely on the other Muslims in the room.—
Hanif Abdurraqib,
New Yorker,
13 July 2025
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But there was a time Emily Deschanel, who played the meticulous forensic anthropologist through 12 seasons of Bones, got scolded for being just that — and the memory still makes the star emotional.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
12 July 2025
Verb
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Dogfish Head 30 Minute Light IPA With 95 calories, 3.6 grams of carbohydrates and 4% alcohol by volume (ABV), the hoppy Dogfish Head's 30 Minute Light IPA combines classic notes of citrus peel with juicy mango and pineapple, the judges said.—
Deirdre Bardolf,
FOXNews.com,
1 Aug. 2025
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The white paint peeling on the wall above his shoulder, the pressure of his hands.—
Meg Pillow
July 31,
Literary Hub,
31 July 2025
Verb
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The type of boy to break up fights at school and lecture his fellow classmates, Steeno added.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
9 July 2025
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The designer published his autobiography, continued to lecture about fashion.—
Laird Borrelli-Persson,
Vogue,
7 July 2025
Verb
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Officer Juan Gonzalez, a 12-year Miami Gardens police veteran, described being reprimanded for speaking to other Hispanic officers at a crime scene.—
Milena Malaver,
Miami Herald,
16 July 2025
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Ruben is sailing across the Atlantic with them (which Duncan rightfully reprimands him for later – like really, who brings a small child across the ocean in a sailboat?).—
Maureen Lee Lenker Published,
EW.com,
30 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flay. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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