flay

[ fley ]

/ fleɪ /

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See synonyms for: flay / flayed 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.

OTHER WORDS FOR flay

2 castigate, excoriate, upbraid, chew out.

See synonyms for flay on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "IS" VS. "ARE"

"Is" it time for a new quiz? "Are" you ready? Then prove your excellent skills on using "is" vs. "are."

Question 1 of 7

IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

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Origin of flay

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

OTHER WORDS FROM flay

flayer, nounun·flayed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use flay in a sentence

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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
Look, when I left Brothers and Sisters, I felt as if I were flayed alive.
Broadway's Comeback Kid|Kevin Sessums|November 2, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Woe to you if you fall into his clutches; before you come out of them you will be plucked, veritably flayed.
Friend Mac Donald|Max O'Rell
His lordship would not intervene; he swore he hoped the cub would be flayed alive by Wilding.
Mistress Wilding|Rafael Sabatini
How could a fellow of such insolent pretensions have escaped being flayed alive ere he reached the age he looked to be?
Tony Butler|Charles James Lever
Otter was flayed, and Reidmar commanded the Æsir to fill the skin with gold, and cover it without that not a hair could be seen.
The Mysteries of All Nations|James Grant
After the specimen had been flayed, the skin and a good supply of dogs' meat were hauled across and sledged home.
The Home of the Blizzard|Douglas Mawson

British Dictionary definitions for flay

flay

/ (fleɪ) /

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 forms of flay

flayer, noun

Word Origin for flay

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

flay

OTHER WORDS FOR flay

Origin of flay

OTHER WORDS FROM flay

Words related to flay

How to use flay in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for flay

Derived forms of flay

Word Origin for flay