as in to whip
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
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Recent Examples of flagellate
One Peruvian candidate has taken time to talk about his habit of wearing a wire chain, known as a cilice, every day to flagellate himself.
—
Star Tribune, 8 Apr. 2021
All are said to have had affairs with Lucian Freud (was there anyone who didn’t?), three with Arthur Koestler and one with Egypt’s King Farouk (who liked to flagellate her on the steps of the royal palace with his dressing-gown cord).
—Moira Hodgson, WSJ, 31 Jan. 2020
Muslims were mobilizing; once, Mr. Rizvi visited during Muharram, an annual ritual of mourning, and found her surrounded by pilgrims, flagellating themselves with chains to which razor blades had been attached.
—Ellen Barry, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2019
Tech companies have self-flagellated a lot on these issues.
—Frank Bajak, SFChronicle.com, 14 Oct. 2019
See all Example Sentences for flagellate 
Star Tribune, 8 Apr. 2021
All are said to have had affairs with Lucian Freud (was there anyone who didn’t?), three with Arthur Koestler and one with Egypt’s King Farouk (who liked to flagellate her on the steps of the royal palace with his dressing-gown cord).
—Moira Hodgson, WSJ, 31 Jan. 2020
Muslims were mobilizing; once, Mr. Rizvi visited during Muharram, an annual ritual of mourning, and found her surrounded by pilgrims, flagellating themselves with chains to which razor blades had been attached.
—Ellen Barry, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2019
Tech companies have self-flagellated a lot on these issues.
—Frank Bajak, SFChronicle.com, 14 Oct. 2019
See all Example Sentences for flagellate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flagellate
Verb
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The fire burned for five days in an isolated part of Great Smoky Mountains National Park before high winds whipped it up and swept it toward Gatlinburg.—
Elizabeth Weise,
USA TODAY,
26 Jan. 2025
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The England midfielder had a shot of his own after bursting forward from midfield before whipping a free kick to Havertz, who headed over.—
Art de Roché,
The Athletic,
25 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Peeking above aquamarine waves that hide the world's second-largest barrier reef, Belize's Ambergris Caye first emerged as a destination for the daring.—
Carley Rojas Avila,
Travel + Leisure,
2 Feb. 2025
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There are conspiracy theorists who think that because the files haven’t been released yet, the government is hiding some evidence of larger conspiracies to kill these figures.—
Olivia B. Waxman,
TIME,
31 Jan. 2025
Verb
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None of them have been more successful than Mr. Musk, who backed the Trump campaign with more than $250 million of his own money and now apparently has the power to slash jobs and budgets across the federal government.—
Cecilia Kang,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2025
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Now, his posting habit is intertwined with his mission of slashing billions in government funding and waging digital war on Trump's behalf.—
Neal Rothschild,
Axios,
8 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The Speccie’s star columnist is the rudest man in Christendom, the Godzilla of contumely, an all-time non-sufferer of fools who horsewhips his targets the way Hunter S. Thompson and Christopher Hitchens once did.—
Kyle Smith,
National Review,
23 Apr. 2020
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In reality, Watson wasn’t a bar fighter or famous for horsewhipping cowboys.—
Eliza McGraw,
Smithsonian,
12 Mar. 2018
Verb
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Linda lashes out at everyone, a bottomless pit of emotional need, and takes refuge in drugs and alcohol.—
Taylor Antrim,
Vogue,
3 Feb. 2025
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Trump has lashed out at the fees U.S. shipping pays to use the canal but seems most animated by the involvement of a Chinese company in its operations.—
Simon Lewis and Matt Spetalnick,
USA TODAY,
1 Feb. 2025
Verb
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News round-up Real Madrid set up El Clasico in Spain’s Supercopa by leathering Mallorca 3-0 last night.—
Phil Hay,
The Athletic,
10 Jan. 2025
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Almost from the start, Dharavi was defined by its industries: from the traditional potters of Gujarat who began arriving in the late 1800s, to leather tanners from Tamil Nadu and embroidery workers from Uttar Pradesh.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN,
29 June 2024
Verb
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The whistle would blow and the players would blow it and a season would flail and tumble towards a precipice.—
Chris Waugh,
The Athletic,
6 Feb. 2025
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An employee scooped up the flailing fish with a sweatshirt before depositing it back in the display tank.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacramento Bee,
31 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Maybe Unify will end up as a hyper-realistic AI companion that looks like Florentino Perez, or an app that measures your level of hubris, like the one that tracks your steps, or a simulator that allows users to relieve stress by flogging dead horses.—
Rory Smith,
The Athletic,
18 Dec. 2024
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Any amount of time spent flogging the Vantage in the hills of Malibu, either on a weekday lunch break or a Sunday cruise, provided the real peaks of my time with the loaner.—
Michael Teo Van Runkle,
Forbes,
29 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near flagellate
Cite this Entry
“Flagellate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flagellate. Accessed 12 Feb. 2025.
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