I. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
about
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She is flailing about in a cultural whirlpool of conflicting expectations, standards and demands.
around
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He flailed around on the snow.
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It felt as though some one was pulling my lifeline away from me and I was flailing around , trying to grab hold of it.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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Flailing his arms, Sam nearly knocked the vase to the floor.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Again they started their wild synchronous flailing.
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He flailed for balance with his sabre arm, then screamed because he saw the heavy sword coming at his throat.
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Her body went rigid, her arms slapping and flailing the bed.
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I could not stop flailing away at the ball.
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Lucien made a small, indignant sound, his arms flailing before he recovered his poise.
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Sonny went staggering back, arms flailing, spitting blood and fragments of teeth.
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Suddenly, the police charged down Catherine, flailing with their sticks.
II. noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Does a father react angrily when his tired, overwhelmed twelve-month-old flails out and hits him on the nose?
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Each sported two flails of sinuous steel tentacles and a crab-like claw.
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It would also catch grain bounding off the floor with the force of flail threshing.
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Or use a flexible tree branch or heavy jacket as a flail to beat the person back.
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This Teddy, so the tale went, had had one paw removed and a small flail with leather tails sewn on.
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What hedges still remain are no longer laid but occasionally slashed by a mobile mechanical flail .