flail
Example Sentences
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A national brand-name institution with a $2.5 billion endowment and a storied 150-year tradition is suddenly beginning to flail.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
They scampered around the office looming above the Outdoor stage, while delighted fans on the ground watched them flail behind glass.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026
With the USA bats continuing to flail against Rodriguez, the Venezuelans doubled their lead in the top of the fifth inning.
From Barron's ● Mar. 18, 2026
"When other fish get caught in those nets they sort of flail and it sends out a vibration underwater, sort of like ringing the dinner bell," says Prof Pepin-Neff.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2025
Next the beast knocked over a jar of apple butter, but the skin lid was tied on tightly, and, flail away at it as he might with his awkward paw, he could not dislodge it.
From "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson
Audiences will wonder that for almost the entirety of “Folie à Deux,” which mostly flails in fits and starts until a tour-de-force sequence in which Arthur/Joker serves as his own lawyer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2024
Men wore black, rhythmically beating their chests in mourning or using flails to strike their backs.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 28, 2023
But the drama flails in its final stages.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2023
Lawson appears to be pulling Sheppard down, and after Lawson disappears, Sheppard flies more freely, but also flails, falling in beautiful slow-motion arcs.
From New York Times ● Aug. 26, 2022
I notice he happily waves preemptively at the woman “gardening,” and she flails her arms back at the happiness of it all.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
The new storefronts have especially been a boon for malls, which flailed after the rise of online shopping.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
As time passed and no government help appeared, del Giudice became exasperated and flailed at the rubble.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
The Braves were a ratings hit, and when the team flailed and went up for sale, Turner’s company became its owner in 1976.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
They attacked the game, while Rangers flailed wildly.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2025
At the same moment, the two boys flailed and tripped.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
"There are farmers really flailing away" and drastically concerned about fuel costs, Joe Logan, interim president of the Ohio Farmers Union, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
A humanoid’s frantic attempts to stay upright—arms flailing, legs skittering—bears an uncanny resemblance to the choreographed collapses of Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton.
From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026
But Southern and Lovelace are left flailing around for a story.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Sure, there are still areas where the monoculture is flailing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
TJ is fighting back the best he can, but his flailing arms are no match for Junito’s boxer-like skills.
From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles
Vocabulary lists containing flail
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Diary of Anne Frank
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Touching Spirit Bear
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