flay
to strip off the skin or outer covering of.
to criticize or scold with scathing severity.
to deprive or strip of money or property.
Origin of flay
1Other words for flay
| 2 | castigate, excoriate, upbraid, chew out |
Other words from flay
- flayer, noun
- un·flayed, adjective
Words Nearby flay
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use flay in a sentence
He was captured and—despite loud calls to flay him alive, lynch him, tear him apart, and the like—given a lengthy trial.
Mumbai Massacre Perpetrator's Sentence Affirmed | Dilip D’Souza | September 3, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Chicago Tribune took every chance to flay Truman, as The Wall Street Journal daily flays Obama.
Whoever advised President Obama to flay Israel publicly until this week should be fired.
Plus, view our gallery of celebrity professors—including Spike Lee, Bobby flay, and Eliot Spitzer.
If one of you dare utter a syllable against this holy man, by Heaven, I will flay him alive.
The Trapper's Daughter | Gustave Aimard
But what, it may be asked, is the worth and use of a satire that drags out vices from their hiding-holes to flay them in sunshine?
But the personal aggression on the wit by the dunce, may fairly instigate the wit to flay the dunce.
He cuts off the head, grallochs the stag and begins to flay it.
Life in an Indian Outpost | Gordon CasserlyAnd when that tongue gets going it can certainly flay a man alive, remarked Wheeler.
Baseball Joe, Captain of the Team | Lester Chadwick
British Dictionary definitions for flay
/ (fleɪ) /
to strip off the skin or outer covering of, esp by whipping; skin
to attack with savage criticism
to strip of money or goods, esp by cheating or extortion
Origin of flay
1Derived forms of flay
- flayer, 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
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