Showing results for "flailing"

• present participle of flail.

flailing

American  

[fley-ling] / ˈfleɪ lɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of moving one’s limbs or body about randomly and wildly (often followed by around orabout ).

   The patient had to be sedated, as her flailing gave the nurse a bloody nose.

2. the act or process of making desperate attempts to respond to a difficult or awkward situation (often followed by around orabout ).

   Embracing the challenge of doing business differently doesn't just mean more effort, more mindless flailing around.

3. the act or process of beating grain with a flail to separate the kernel from the chaff.

   As wheat production increased, flailing and winnowing were replaced with threshing machines and fanning mills.

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adjective

1. moving about randomly and wildly, or making desperate attempts to respond to a challenge.

   I was pushed out of bed by the flailing limbs of my overexcited little boy.

   There was no real strike, only a flailing protest by unions trying to become relevant again.

Etymology

Origin of flailing

First recorded in 1850–55; flail ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun senses; flail ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective sense

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flailing

Artificial limbs programmed for specific movements end up flailing in surprisingly chaotic ways.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Rangers were flailing in the opening 45 minutes as Jagiellonia cut them open with ease, capitalising on numerous lapses in concentration.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Then Mookie Betts drove him in with a comebacker over the mound and past flailing second baseman Edouard Julien.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

"She came out with her two little arms flailing," family friend Rolando told AFP, asking to be identified by only his first name.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

I glance down into the growing chasm of the ship to see Woo flailing in the water.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Related Words

• whipping