flagellant

[ flaj-uh-luh nt, fluh-jel-uh nt ]

/ ˈflædʒ ə lənt, fləˈdʒɛl ənt /

noun

a person who flagellates or scourges himself or herself for religious discipline.

a person who derives sexual pleasure from whipping or being whipped by another person.

(often initial capital letter) one of a medieval European sect of fanatics who practiced scourging in public.

adjective

flagellating.

severely criticizing: a flagellant attack on the opposition party.

Nearby words

flag station, flag up, flag-waver, flag-waving, flagella, flagellant, flagellants, flagellar, flagellar antigen, flagellata, flagellate

Origin of flagellant

1555–65; < Latin flagellant- (stem of flagellāns) whipping, present participle of flagellāre. See flagellum, -ant

Related forms

flag·el·lant·ism, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for flagellant

"Vainglory is a sleeveless errand," murmured the spirit of the flagellant.
Under the Rose|Frederic Stewart Isham
In the village Shikalovo lived two dressmakers, sisters, belonging to the Flagellant sect.
The Witch and Other Stories|Anton Chekhov
She did not see in Clare's hopeless passion the joy of the flagellant, or the self-dramatization of a neurotic girl.
The Breaking Point|Mary Roberts Rinehart
Partly, perhaps, a painful curiosity, a flagellant longing to press the iron that had seared him to his soul.
Satan Sanderson|Hallie Erminie Rives

If I was a Flagellant now, I would don hairshirt and up flail.
For the Term of His Natural Life|Marcus Clarke

British Dictionary definitions for flagellant

flagellant

flagellator (ˈflædʒɪˌleɪtə)

/ (ˈflædʒɪlənt, fləˈdʒɛlənt) /

noun

a person who whips himself or others either as part of a religious penance or for sexual gratification

(often capital) (in medieval Europe) a member of a religious sect who whipped themselves in public

Derived Forms

flagellantism, noun

Word Origin for flagellant

C16: from Latin flagellāre to whip, from flagellum

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012