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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Recent Examples of flay
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
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
See All Example Sentences for flay
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
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
See All Example Sentences for flay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flay
Verb
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Five months after beating New York Red Bulls for the club’s sixth MLS Cup title, the Galaxy lost the rematch 7-0 in New York — seven-nil — prompting an impromptu team scolding on the field by Vanney after the final whistle.—
Mark Zeigler,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 May 2025
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The moment a golden retriever and his feline friend were scolded by their owner for their behavior during her trip has left people in stitches.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 May 2025
Verb
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Having peeled back the classical outer layer of the onion, where energy is always positive, Wall reached a lightly quantum layer — a context physicists call semiclassical.—
Charlie Wood,
Quanta Magazine,
27 May 2025
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Metal structures should not have rust or peeling paint, which could contain lead.—
Dr. Julie Gilchrist,
Boston Herald,
25 May 2025
Verb
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These days, nothing infuriates liberals more than to be lectured about the American plutocracy — not when Trump is perhaps the most brazenly corrupt president to hold the office in modern history.—
Alexander Heffner,
Chicago Tribune,
29 May 2025
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Maybe Healey can lecture them on how to sue Trump a hundred times and bankrupt a state on migrant hotel shelters.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
27 May 2025
Verb
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In 2022, he was reprimanded for oxycodone trafficking.—
Armon Sadler,
VIBE.com,
22 May 2025
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The Supreme Court on Monday said Broward County Judge Mardi Levey Cohen will be reprimanded June 3 as part of discipline that also includes a 10-day suspension without pay.—
News Service Of Florida,
Sun Sentinel,
19 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flay. Accessed 7 Jun. 2025.
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