单词 | flail |
释义 | flail (once / 3886 pages) nv To flail means to wave around wildly. If you are stranded on a deserted island and you see a ship in the distance, it’s a good idea to flail your arms in the air to get the captain’s attention. Flail originates with the Latin word flagellum, which is a whip. It is also related to the noun flail, a stick with a swinging attachment to it, used to thresh grain. As a verb, it most often refers to arms, but can also involve the whole body, especially if someone is a very wild dancer. Other things can flail as well. If someone admits that his business is flailing, it’s probably lacking direction and not doing very well. WORD FAMILYflail: flailed, flailing, flails USAGE EXAMPLESCruz and Garbrandt continued their agreeably disagreeable display of hostility, sneering and lunging and flailing at each other until they were, inevitably, separated. The New Yorker(Dec 30, 2016) Among other actions, Ahearn was prone to “loud outbursts, yelling, pounding his hands and fists on the desk and flailing hand gestures,” the complaint said. Los Angeles Times(Dec 24, 2016) Maybe, but after a full year with Dorsey at the helm, Twitter is still flailing. The Guardian(Dec 20, 2016) 1n an implement consisting of handle with a free swinging stick at the end; used in manual threshing Hyper implement instrumentation (a piece of equipment or tool) used to effect an end 2v move like a flail; thresh about Her arms were flailing Syn|Hyper thresh beat, flap move with a flapping motion 3v give a thrashing to; beat hard Syn|Hyper lam, thrash, thresh bat, clobber, cream, drub, lick, thrash beat thoroughly and conclusively in a competition or fight beat, beat up, work over give a beating to; subject to a beating, either as a punishment or as an act of aggression |
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