Meaning & use
flail
To wave or swing the arms or legs about wildly and without control.
See it in a sentence
He flailed his arms desperately as he struggled to stay above the water.
The toddler flailed his legs in protest as his mother tried to buckle him into the car seat.
A note on using this word
Flail is often used figuratively to describe struggling ineffectively with a task or situation, as in the company flailed after losing its biggest client.
Words with a similar meaning
thrashflounder
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
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