as in whipping
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1
as in hiding
to strike repeatedly with something long and thin or flexible
a graphic depiction of a sailor being flogged by the captain for disobeying orders
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in licking
to strike repeatedly
was fined heavily for flogging a horse
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in shuffling
British
to move heavily or clumsily
for most of the night, searchers flogged through the marsh, crying out for the lost child
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in struggling
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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Recent Examples of flogging
Armando Salguero Outkick, FOXNews.com, 29 Apr. 2026
In September 1850, Congress banned flogging on all US ships.
—Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 2026
Cheating has been part of the Olympics since the ancient games, when violators were punished with fines, public flogging or lifetime bans.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2026
Despite a pretty lively premiere week thanks to a public flogging from critics that seemed to pique audience interest, All’s Fair did have some tough competition during that interval as well.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 14 Nov. 2025
Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 2026
Examples include a husband having the legal right to restrict his wife’s travel and employment, unequal divorce rights and punishment for appearing in public without a hijab ranging from fines to prison time to flogging.
—Ellie Austin, Fortune, 21 Jan. 2026
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
Noun
None of that requires punishing him with a public flogging.
—Armando Salguero Outkick, FOXNews.com, 29 Apr. 2026
In September 1850, Congress banned flogging on all US ships.
—Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 2026
Cheating has been part of the Olympics since the ancient games, when violators were punished with fines, public flogging or lifetime bans.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2026
Despite a pretty lively premiere week thanks to a public flogging from critics that seemed to pique audience interest, All’s Fair did have some tough competition during that interval as well.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 14 Nov. 2025
Verb
White-Jacket did cause a stir with its discussion of the arbitrary and cruel use of flogging in the US Navy.
—Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 2026
Examples include a husband having the legal right to restrict his wife’s travel and employment, unequal divorce rights and punishment for appearing in public without a hijab ranging from fines to prison time to flogging.
—Ellie Austin, Fortune, 21 Jan. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flogging
Noun
-
Michael’s tendency to speak up earned him frequent whippings with his father’s belt.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
21 Apr. 2026
-
The hair-whipping, chest-thumping church founder uprooted her polarizing sect from Manchester, England, to Manhattan before fleeing farther still into the countryside.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Hospital surveillance footage captured Talley pointing the gun at the room where the technician was hiding, Pekara said, before starting to make his way out of the building.—
Caroline Kubzansky,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
-
After a search of the area, police located both suspects, who police said are teenagers, hiding nearby and took both into custody.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
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
-
There was major line shuffling overall by Cooper on this night, not just Kucherov, but tweaks to three lines, which ended up looking a little different than what was shown in pregame warmup.—
Pierre LeBrun,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
-
YoshimiO, sharing fellow ’90s icon Flea’s recent interest in the instrument, turns in a credible trumpet line during the track’s shuffling, exuberant second half.—
Reed Jackson,
SPIN,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
As the city morphs into a luxury tourist destination, struggling small businesses are pushing to retain the character that drew many tourists in the first place.—
Laura Millan,
Bloomberg,
27 Apr. 2026
-
If your friend is lonely or struggling to establish her identity without her sister living in the house, time with friends and time intentionally getting to know herself will be more productive.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Arsenal enters the match as the favorite, but Sporting has been resilient in the Champions League, rebounding from a 3-0 loss to tournament darlings Bodo/Glimt with a 5-0 thrashing in Lisbon.—
Pueng Vongs,
Mercury News,
15 Apr. 2026
-
His only Champions League goal arrived in January’s 6-0 thrashing of Qarabag, and his only assists in the competition came in similarly comfortable wins over Eintracht Frankfurt and Galatasaray.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Politicians from both parties are slashing rates and spinning loopholes.—
Annie Lowrey,
The Atlantic,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The new budget proposes slashing OCR funding by 35%.—
Sequoia Carrillo,
NPR,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Not long after, the White House began lashing out at Democrats and the media over the shooting.—
Zac Anderson,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
-
On his last day before he’s scheduled to ride off on his motorcycle for a three-month sabbatical that’s only barely disguising his suicidal ideation, Robby spends his final shift lashing out at his co-workers.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flogging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flogging. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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