flay
to strip off the skin or outer covering of.
to criticize or scold with scathing severity.
to deprive or strip of money or property.
Origin of flay
1Other words for flay
2 | castigate, excoriate, upbraid, chew out |
Other words from flay
- flayer, noun
- un·flayed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use flay in a sentence
We want our primal fill like the Romans forcing some standard-stealing barbarian on a flaying parade.
Somebody or other;—first flaying the skin off, as was natural, and taking that for his trouble.
History Of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. III. (of XXI.) | Thomas CarlyleSartoris watched him as some cold-blooded scientist might have watched the flaying of a live animal.
The Slave of Silence | Fred M. WhiteThey always observe certain superstitious precautions in flaying the dead animal.
Bible Animals; | J. G. WoodIt was like a prize fighter tearing into a powerful opponent with flying, flaying fists to forestall a knockout.
The Frontier Boys in the Grand Canyon | Wyn Roosevelt
The lad listened to the tirade without the twitch of a muscle—stolidity that proved him to be well used to such flaying.
The Secret of a Happy Home (1896) | Marion Harland
British Dictionary definitions for flay
/ (fleɪ) /
to strip off the skin or outer covering of, esp by whipping; skin
to attack with savage criticism
to strip of money or goods, esp by cheating or extortion
Origin of flay
1Derived forms of flay
- flayer, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse