1
as in to scold
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
her husband flayed her constantly for her incessant shopping
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of flay
Among the dead was Hugh de Cressingham, the king’s treasurer, whose corpse was reportedly flayed to make a sheath for Wallace’s sword.
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Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Sep. 2024
Graphic contemporary news footage shows Mussolini’s ignominious end, when his abused corpse was publicly flayed by anyone who wanted to take a whack at it.
—Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2024
Frankness is admirable—this, after all, is our world; these things happen—but flaying our eyeballs like this, not so much.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 26 July 2024
The work hangs in canny dialogue with the museum’s collections: an 18th-century still life on the opposite wall is a reminder that flayed flesh has long been a subject of art.
—Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 19 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for flay 
Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Sep. 2024
Graphic contemporary news footage shows Mussolini’s ignominious end, when his abused corpse was publicly flayed by anyone who wanted to take a whack at it.
—Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2024
Frankness is admirable—this, after all, is our world; these things happen—but flaying our eyeballs like this, not so much.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 26 July 2024
The work hangs in canny dialogue with the museum’s collections: an 18th-century still life on the opposite wall is a reminder that flayed flesh has long been a subject of art.
—Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 19 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for flay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flay
Verb
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Still, watching Hannah scold him about everything, from 401(k)s to boiling water to phone bills, from ordering him to walk a dog that doesn’t belong to him to telling him that riding hotel pool furniture would give her the ick, was painful.Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 31 Oct. 2024
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Dolores returns to scold her grandson for badmouthing her during the show’s Día de los Muertos episode, which airs on NBC on Friday, Oct. 25.Brendan Le, People.com, 25 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Gently roll/tap the eggs to release the shell and peel 5.Ashia Aubourg, Outside Online, 8 Nov. 2024
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Surrounded by his arsenal of keyboards, the 74-year-old peeled back the years with strong vocal performances.Brian McCollum, USA TODAY, 4 Nov. 2024
Verb
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They even get lectured by parents for breaking rules — but that doesn't stop them from finding a spaceship buried in the nearby woods.Christian Holub, EW.com, 1 Nov. 2024
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The whole thing reads as if it is being delivered by someone looking down over their glasses with their hands on their hips like a parent lecturing a child.Roger Valdez, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
Verb
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In the months since, Whitaker has criticized and reprimanded the prosecution over its disorganized handling of the case.Justin Curto, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2024
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Sometimes the moderator might also jump onto that bandwagon and reprimand the missing candidate.Lance Eliot, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Flay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flay. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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