definitions
  • synonyms

flagellate

[ verb flaj-uh-leyt; adjective, noun flaj-uh-lit, -leyt ]
/ verb ˈflædʒ əˌleɪt; adjective, noun ˈflædʒ ə lɪt, -ˌleɪt /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR flagellate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), flag·el·lat·ed, flag·el·lat·ing.

to whip; scourge; flog; lash.

adjective

Also flag·el·lat·ed. Biology. having flagella.
Botany. producing filiform runners or runnerlike branches, as the strawberry.
pertaining to or caused by flagellates.

noun

any protozoan of the phylum (or class) Mastigophora, having one or more flagella.

RELATED WORDS

hit, beat, flay, spank, thrash, lash, tan, flog, belt

Nearby words

flagellant, flagellants, flagellar, flagellar antigen, flagellata, flagellate, flagellated, flagellation, flagellatory, flagelliform, flagellin

Origin of flagellate

1615–25; < Latin flagellātus, past participle of flagellāre to whip. See flagellum, -ate1
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for flagellate

British Dictionary definitions for flagellate

flagellate

verb (ˈflædʒɪˌleɪt)

(tr) to whip; scourge; flog

adjective (ˈflædʒɪlɪt, -ˌleɪt) flagellated

possessing one or more flagella
resembling a flagellum; whiplike

noun (ˈflædʒɪlɪt, -ˌleɪt)

a flagellate organism, esp any protozoan of the phylum Zoomastigina
Derived Formsflagellation, noun
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

Word Origin and History for flagellate

flagellate

v.

1620s, from Latin flagellatus, past participle of flagellare "to scourge, lash" (see flagellum). Related: Flagellated; flagellating. An earlier verb for this was flagellen (mid-15c.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Medicine definitions for flagellate

flagellate

[ flăj′ə-lĭt, -lāt′, flə-jĕl′ĭt ]

adj.

Flagellated.
Relating to or caused by a flagellate organism.

n.

A member of the class Mastigophora, comprising organisms having a flagellum.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Science definitions for flagellate

flagellate

[ flăj′ə-lāt′ ]

Any of various protozoans of the subphylum Mastigophora that move by means of one or more flagella. Some flagellates can make food by photosynthesis (such as euglenas and volvox), and are often classified as green algae by botanists. Others are symbiotic or parasitic (such as trypanosomes). Flagellates are related to amoebas. Also called mastigophoran
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.