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
He’s overseen a doubling in the defense budget, the rollout of a new family of armored vehicles, something that has proved troublesome for allies like the UK, and flogged French arms to allies far and wide, even in the face of US competition.
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Joseph Ataman, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025
In Malaysia, which is on track to morph from an aging society to an aged one, unwed mothers are stigmatized — and sometimes even flogged.
—Daniel Moss, Mercury News, 4 Sep. 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
This car cries out to be puttered around in, not flogged.
—ArsTechnica, 9 July 2025
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for flog
Verb
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There were some frightening moments early Monday for a Miramar man after police say he was pistol whipped during a home invasion and his French bulldog was stolen.—
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Or whips around his defender in a bold pirouette.—
Verb
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Weir picked up his first guitar licks from David Nelson and future Jefferson Airplane member Jorma Kaukonen.—
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Other photos showed Owen proudly licking the faces of his owners and getting some hugs and pats from the reality star, her husband and children.—
Verb
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Jenkins brutally stomped and punched Coto, who was severely injured and put on life support.—
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Take it slower and stomp a path through new snow or ski on a frozen pond.—
Verb
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Government agencies and businesses that invest in this training, and that insist every critical number survives a deterministic check, will capture AI's benefits without stumbling into its blind spots.—
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Dodge, still suffering the consequences of axing the popular previous generations of Charger and Challenger muscle cars, saw sales stumble down 28% compared with the previous year.—
Verb
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Still seething after a sloppy 19-16 loss to the Detroit Lions, Johnson wasn’t hiding his dissatisfaction with a defeat that seemed to diminish his team’s momentum.—
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But the jury in the federal civil lawsuit found that Moore violated Gillispie's rights by hiding evidence that would have helped Gillispie's defense and creating unfair lineup procedures for the victims.—
Verb
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Trump has also repeatedly lashed out over the state’s incarceration of Tina Peters, the former county clerk convicted of state felonies related to her attempts to prove discredited election conspiracies shared by the president.—
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According to Augustinus Bader, apply to brows and lashes morning and night.—
Verb
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Even with my winter boots and sturdy soles, caution dictates a short stride, a shuffling gait end eyes riveted to the slippery ground.—
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First, the sophomore shuffled back into coverage after showing A-gap pressure to intercept a Bryce Underwood pass over the middle of the field, ending a key fourth-quarter drive.—
Verb
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His strength on defense was particularly impressive for a freshman, as TCU big men Xavier Edmonds and David Punch struggled to create good looks inside the lane thanks in large part to the defense of Peat.—
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Players throughout the Heat’s rotation struggled to make shots.—
Cite this Entry
“Flog.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flog. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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