as in whipping
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Dissimilar Words
1
as in hiding
to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible
a graphic depiction of a sailor being flogged by the captain for disobeying orders
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in licking
to strike repeatedly
was fined heavily for flogging a horse
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in shuffling
British
to move heavily or clumsily
for most of the night, searchers flogged through the marsh, crying out for the lost child
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in struggling
British
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
ignoring the groans and catcalls that his speech was provoking, the backbencher flogged away
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of flogging
Katie Campione, Deadline, 14 Nov. 2025
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
The only thing tougher to watch than the Bengals’ offense on Sunday was Browning flogging himself over the failure.
—Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
The Black Death and its aftermath saw a great resurgence of apocalyptic flagellation, with thousands of adherents flogging themselves up and down the Continent (the movement failed to take off in England, which figures).
—Michael Robbins, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Noun
Despite a pretty lively premiere week thanks to a public flogging from critics that seemed to pique audience interest, All’s Fair did have some tough competition during that interval as well.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 14 Nov. 2025
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
The only thing tougher to watch than the Bengals’ offense on Sunday was Browning flogging himself over the failure.
—Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
The Black Death and its aftermath saw a great resurgence of apocalyptic flagellation, with thousands of adherents flogging themselves up and down the Continent (the movement failed to take off in England, which figures).
—Michael Robbins, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flogging
Noun
-
Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images Amadou Onana’s usual whipping up of the crowd comes after every Aston Villa win.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
-
When your skin barrier is feeling particularly tight and angry from Arctic wing whipping, this pick is an easy fix.—
Kiana Murden,
Vogue,
29 Jan. 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
-
As finger-licking as the savory food is, the real headliner here is dessert.—
Skye Sherman,
Southern Living,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Mitch West, meanwhile, was licking his wounds on Monday night, when snow still hadn’t touched down in his region of South Carolina.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Bridgerton treats it as though every woman got multiples of their yearbook photo to hand around as headshots, and Benedict’s taking what would have been treasured personal heirlooms and just shuffling through them and tossing out anyone with the wrong hair color.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Silvia showed them little affection or attention, shuffling quickly through the infants to feed, change, or hold them.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Bear, struggling with drug addiction, had no one urging her to fight the state’s case.—
Raynee Howell,
Oklahoma Watch,
9 Feb. 2026
-
He’s trapped in rolling crises of his own making and is struggling to sell voters on the idea of a strong American economy.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Stevenson played his best game in the Pats’ regular-season finale, a 38-10 thrashing of Miami.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
5 Feb. 2026
-
And, the 56-22 CFP semifinal Peach Bowl thrashing of Oregon began with Ponds’ interception return for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
19 Jan. 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
Cite this Entry
“Flogging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flogging. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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