flail
Example Sentences
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While investment and consumption flail, China’s dollar-denominated exports power on, surging almost 20% year-over-year last month on demand for artificial intelligence and clean-energy products.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 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
He opened the unlocked door of a police vehicle, climbed into the back and began to flail in distress.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2026
Yet Apple TV+, in raw viewership terms, continues to flail.
From Slate ● Jan. 16, 2025
My eyes wander over to a small chest sitting under my desk, flail of the 200,000 Notes I received for capturing Day.
From "Legend" by Marie Lu
When he flails the way he did in the playoffs last year, it’s bound to raise suspicions that he’s distracted or not entirely invested in the sport in which he makes his living.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2024
Cure turns toward Aldridge and flails his arms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2023
Men wore black, rhythmically beating their chests in mourning or using flails to strike their backs.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 28, 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
Mom paces as she talks, flails her arms for emphasis as if Dad can see her, clenching her cell phone like it’s a kitchen sponge after a messy spaghetti dinner.
From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper
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
Stagflation set in, and the Nixon, Ford and Carter administrations all flailed helplessly at the beast.
From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026
They attacked the game, while Rangers flailed wildly.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2025
Cooperation between the state commission and the Department of Air Force also seems to have flailed after the October meeting, with little agreement or communication between the two agencies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2025
It flailed down while they tried to gather their things.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
That said, the performances are so captivating that one quickly becomes embroiled in the imperiled fates of the characters and their flailing attempts to either escape or ignore them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Sir Paul Smith, the doyen of British fashion, is flailing around in his office with two large rubber chickens and making them squeak them with gusto.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Then Mookie Betts drove him in with a comebacker over the mound and past flailing second baseman Edouard Julien.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
"She came out with her two little arms flailing," family friend Rolando told AFP, asking to be identified by only his first name.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
The body ramped on a tree root and sailed into the air, arms and legs flailing like ribbons.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
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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