How to Use flail in a Sentence

flail

verb
Definition of flailnext
Synonyms for flailnext
  • The bird's wings flailed the water.
  • They were flailing their arms to drive away the insects.
  • He was wildly flailing about on the dance floor.
  • The wounded animal lay on the ground, flailing helplessly.
  • Even the best casts can flail when the vibe is more antic than comic.
    — Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2023
  • Why are we are left to flail in the wind when others are included?
    — Doris Bittar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Nov. 2020
  • Cure can be seen sitting up at times and flailing his arms.
    — Ray Sanchez, CNN, 18 Oct. 2023
  • The seat belt slipped off the dummy’s shoulder and the dummy’s head and torso flailed far outside the seat.
    — Daniela Porat, ProPublica, 6 Feb. 2020
  • Drowning people won't flail their arms and holler for help.
    — Maya Miller, Star Tribune, 1 July 2021
  • The grieving mother starts to shriek and flail in the pew; Cherizier towels off his head.
    — Jason Motlagh, Rolling Stone, 26 Nov. 2023
  • As Joel flails in the fog, someone emerges and knocks him unconscious with the butt of their rifle.
    — Randall Colburn, EW.com, 13 Mar. 2023
  • Hader ended the no-hitter by getting Straw to flail at a pitch in the dirt for his 31st save.
    — NBC News, 12 Sep. 2021
  • There on the snow is a rabbit the size of my new kitten, flailing its poor little head back and forth.
    — Alison Fishburn, Longreads, 23 Oct. 2019
  • Trying to help that guy because the one who choked Rudy, the one who flailed at Jusuf, who punched Jordan (Poole) last year.
    — Shayna Rubin, The Mercury News, 4 Jan. 2024
  • Avoid swatting at the bees or flailing your arms, which can aggravate the bees.
    — Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 20 Sep. 2023
  • Hader completed the no-hitter by getting Straw to flail at a pitch in the dirt for his 31st save.
    — Brian Dulik, chicagotribune.com, 12 Sep. 2021
  • The action moves in and out of view, but one of the suspects’ legs can be seen flailing as two of the victims pummel him in the driveway.
    — Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 9 Nov. 2023
  • Do yourself a favor and take an hour to flail and dance around your house to any of her music while shrieking.
    — Anne Nickoloff, cleveland, 21 Apr. 2020
  • In trying to fly too high, Rio 2 does too much flailing and floundering to soar.
    — Miami Staff, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024
  • On the mound, Taylor Hearn was flailing through the first inning of his major league debut.
    — Dallas News, 8 Mar. 2020
  • That leaves Keaton to hoot and flail and fall into swimming pools for the next 80 minutes, and possibly find true love.
    — Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 12 Aug. 2022
  • The Patriots quarterback forced the first challenger to the ground with a nasty jump cut that left the linebacker flailing.
    — Varun Shankar, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Aug. 2023
  • Hader ended the no-hitter by getting Straw to flail at a pitch in the dirt to make history.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 11 Sep. 2021
  • The strut became more pronounced by the end of the sixth, after getting Josh Fuentes to flail at a slider for his eighth strikeout.
    — Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2021
  • For starters, there was a scene in which Dwight drove the bus and was supposed to suddenly swerve, causing everyone in the bus to flail to one side of the bus.
    — Hannah Yasharoff, USA TODAY, 17 May 2022
  • Biggio is now on the injured list and Hiura was sent to the minors for a spell, while Suarez continues to flail away.
    — Steve Gardner, USA TODAY, 26 May 2021
  • Hitters who hadn’t seen his changeup could only flail at it.
    — Bobby Nightengale, The Enquirer, 1 June 2022
  • Practicing flight moves, the owlets would leap and flail, tumbling to lower branches, sometimes to the ground.
    — Val Cunningham Special To The Star Tribune, Star Tribune, 12 Jan. 2021
  • Apparently, a landed carp is comfortable and less prone to flail when bagged and tied to the dock.
    — Kirk Deeter, Field & Stream, 5 Dec. 2020
  • So, keep dangerous items, like hot coffee, well out of reach of their flailing hands.
    — Parents Editors, Parents, 7 June 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'flail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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