1
as in to scold
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
her husband flayed her constantly for her incessant shopping
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flay
Grammy winner Williams flays the mysterious character, and opens the show with her powerful vocals.
—
Dave Quinn, People.com, 24 Oct. 2024
The radical potential of the scene has mostly evaporated, flattened and flayed into vague signifiers.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 3 Oct. 2024
Some of the homes were shoved off their concrete footings, while others had their roofs flayed off by the wind.
—Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 29 Sep. 2024
Among the dead was Hugh de Cressingham, the king’s treasurer, whose corpse was reportedly flayed to make a sheath for Wallace’s sword.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for flay 
Dave Quinn, People.com, 24 Oct. 2024
The radical potential of the scene has mostly evaporated, flattened and flayed into vague signifiers.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 3 Oct. 2024
Some of the homes were shoved off their concrete footings, while others had their roofs flayed off by the wind.
—Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 29 Sep. 2024
Among the dead was Hugh de Cressingham, the king’s treasurer, whose corpse was reportedly flayed to make a sheath for Wallace’s sword.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for flay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flay
Verb
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What leads children to be scolded for poor behavior can snowball into difficulties keeping a job, maintaining healthy relationships, and even staying out of prison.—
Yasmin Tayag,
The Atlantic,
3 Feb. 2025
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And despite being scolded by school administrators for it and having to file a lawsuit, more and more students began to show up each week wearing the shirts, as the school had to alter its dress code and start placing students in detention for wearing them.—
Jackson Thompson,
Fox News,
31 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Levin’s sister peeled away the duct tape and performed CPR while waiting for emergency responders to arrive, prosecutors said.—
Madeline Buckley,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Feb. 2025
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The crash peeled open the truck and propelled 4.160 gallons of milk in the northbound lanes near Lake Worth Road.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
31 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Schachner playfully lectures Smooth for pulling the blue bandanna off his Team Fluff teammate, Alice.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA TODAY,
10 Feb. 2025
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The long-standing lament that Latin American conservatives, centrists, and leftists share is that whereas the United States comes to the region to punish and lecture, China comes to trade.—
Will Freeman,
The Atlantic,
29 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Witnesses told investigators that Sanchez had planned to reprimand Jimenez for his allegedly poor work ethic and other faults, according to court filings.—
Gary Klien,
The Mercury News,
21 Jan. 2025
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In 2011, in the southern city of Daraa, a group of teen-age boys were caught painting anti-government graffiti on a wall, and, rather than simply reprimand them, secret police tortured them to death.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
The New Yorker,
27 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near flay
Cite this Entry
“Flay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flay. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.
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