flay

[fley]

See more synonyms for flay on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

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

before 900; Middle English flen, Old English flēan; cognate with Middle Dutch vlaen, Old Norse flā

Related formsflay·er, nounun·flayed, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for flay on Thesaurus.com

2. castigate, excoriate, upbraid, chew out.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for flayed

Contemporary Examples

Or you can mount a flayed rabbit to hang in your living room while a chef turns its innards into a nose-to-tail feast.
Edible Taxidermy: It’s a Good Thing
Lizzie Crocker
August 5, 2014
In the central panel, Sen. Elizabeth Warren whispers into the ear of the Pope as Mitt Romney and hedge fund managers are flayed.
Pope Francis Declares Consumers and Capitalists Need to Help the Poor
Daniel Gross
November 26, 2013
In half an hour it came out, flayed and roasted, black oily skin peeled from both sides.
Iraq War 10th Anniversary: The Teamster
John Kael Weston
March 17, 2013
Look, when I left Brothers and Sisters, I felt as if I were flayed alive.
Broadway's Comeback Kid
Kevin Sessums
November 2, 2011

Historical Examples

They have only to be flayed, and their skins inflated, and they will readily give us a passage.
Anabasis
Xenophon
Then they flayed the monster, and the next morning the hide was shown to his majesty.
Japanese Fairy World
William Elliot Griffis
She lived amongst them, a passive victim, quivering in every nerve, as if she were flayed.
Chance
Joseph Conrad
Their only clothing is a breechcloth and a short skirt of flayed bark.
Negritos of Zambales
William Allan Reed
No doubt they would have flayed me alive, have sold my skin, and devoured, etc.
The Comedies of William Congreve
William Congreve

British Dictionary definitions for flayed

flay

verb (tr)

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

Derived Formsflayer, noun

Word Origin

Old English flēan; related to Old Norse flā to peel, Lithuanian pl e šti to tear

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 flayed

flay

v.

Old English flean "to skin" (strong verb, past tense flog, past participle flagen), from Proto-Germanic *flakhanan (cf. Middle Dutch vlaen, Old High German flahan, Old Norse fla), from PIE root *plak- (2) "to hit" (cf. Greek plessein "to strike," Lithuanian plešiu "to tear;" see plague (n.)). Related: Flayed; flaying.

flay

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Synonyms

Examples from the Web for flayed

Contemporary Examples

Or you can mount a flayed rabbit to hang in your living room while a chef turns its innards into a nose-to-tail feast.

In the central panel, Sen. Elizabeth Warren whispers into the ear of the Pope as Mitt Romney and hedge fund managers are flayed.

In half an hour it came out, flayed and roasted, black oily skin peeled from both sides.

Look, when I left Brothers and Sisters, I felt as if I were flayed alive.

Historical Examples

They have only to be flayed, and their skins inflated, and they will readily give us a passage.

Then they flayed the monster, and the next morning the hide was shown to his majesty.

She lived amongst them, a passive victim, quivering in every nerve, as if she were flayed.

Their only clothing is a breechcloth and a short skirt of flayed bark.

No doubt they would have flayed me alive, have sold my skin, and devoured, etc.

flay

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for flayed

flay

v.

Origin of flay