1
as in to whip
to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible
a graphic depiction of a sailor being flogged by the captain for disobeying orders
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2
as in to lick
to strike repeatedly
was fined heavily for flogging a horse
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3
as in to stomp
British
to move heavily or clumsily
for most of the night, searchers flogged through the marsh, crying out for the lost child
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4
as in to stumble
British
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
ignoring the groans and catcalls that his speech was provoking, the backbencher flogged away
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flog
There are traditional Finnish saunas (dry heat/steam), infrared saunas (radiant heat), Turkish baths/hammams (can include a venik ritual where guests are flogged with branches) and Russian banyas (high-humidity steam).
—
Eileen Falkenberg-Hull, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
Others have called out the boring marketing campaign based around flogging variants in order for Swift to finally beat the record for the biggest opening sales week for a female artist in history (currently held by Adele, which she is likely projected to break).
—Bianca Davino, Refinery29, 7 Oct. 2025
The only thing tougher to watch than the Bengals’ offense on Sunday was Browning flogging himself over the failure.
—Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
The Black Death and its aftermath saw a great resurgence of apocalyptic flagellation, with thousands of adherents flogging themselves up and down the Continent (the movement failed to take off in England, which figures).
—Michael Robbins, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flog
Eileen Falkenberg-Hull, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
Others have called out the boring marketing campaign based around flogging variants in order for Swift to finally beat the record for the biggest opening sales week for a female artist in history (currently held by Adele, which she is likely projected to break).
—Bianca Davino, Refinery29, 7 Oct. 2025
The only thing tougher to watch than the Bengals’ offense on Sunday was Browning flogging himself over the failure.
—Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
The Black Death and its aftermath saw a great resurgence of apocalyptic flagellation, with thousands of adherents flogging themselves up and down the Continent (the movement failed to take off in England, which figures).
—Michael Robbins, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flog
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flog
Verb
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Read on to discover what the chefs will be whipping us this year at Culinary Masters.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
24 Apr. 2026
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In a video obtained by WBZ, Nguyen can be seen sitting on the side of the mountain as the wind whipped around him.—
Abigail Adams,
PEOPLE,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Maximilien, a French national, allegedly uploaded a clip of himself licking a straw from an iJooz vending machine before putting it back in the dispenser.—
Adam England,
PEOPLE,
27 Apr. 2026
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There’s Cassie licking a melting ice cream cone as the ice cream drips down her bare chest.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Dedicating that much shelf space to the New York Yankees, as your organization gets stomped into the ground by them, at home?—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
23 Apr. 2026
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New surveillance video from inside a Brooklyn liquor store shows another angle of the rough mistaken identity arrest that ignited a firestorm of criticism, offering a different angle as one of the detectives appears to stomp the prone suspect.—
Rocco Parascandola,
New York Daily News,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
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During a routine survey in preparation for a housing development in Winsch, local authorities stumbled upon the former Roman camp in August 2025.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Apr. 2026
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Clemson also stumbled to a 7-6 mark, a year after registering a 10-4 record in 2024.—
Antwan Staley,
New York Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The rookie center fielder didn’t bother to hide his delight, jumping and shouting in celebration.—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Apr. 2026
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Carie Hallford was sentenced to 30 years for her role in a scheme that involved hiding nearly 200 decomposing bodies.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries lashed back at Leavitt.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
27 Apr. 2026
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Leo has not lashed out, or gotten defensive, or allowed himself to be pulled down into the gutter.—
Peter Wehner,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Redick has had to shuffle the roster pieces around since, using the final five games of the regular season to assess his rotation options without Doncic and Reaves, who also missed 19 straight games from Christmas until February with a strained calf.—
Benjamin Royer,
Oc Register,
30 Apr. 2026
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Parkinson’s stem cell trial is underway at UM At the University of Miami, neurologists are testing AI’s capabilities to shuffle through patient data to spot patterns that can help predict which patients may experience rapid decline.—
Michelle Marchante,
Miami Herald,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The contestants struggled mighty hard with the songs.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
28 Apr. 2026
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Pornographic deepfake images of her have circulated online, making the singer the most famous victim of a scourge that tech platforms and antiabuse groups have struggled to fix.—
Maria Sherman,
Fortune,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flog.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flog. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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