flailed
Waved arms erratically
Flailed is the past tense of flail, meaning to swing or wave wildly and uncontrollably.
Arms flail when someone loses balance or panics: She flailed helplessly in the water.
Figuratively, to flail is to struggle without direction or effectiveness: The campaign flailed in the final weeks.
The word comes from the agricultural flail, a tool swung to thresh grain.
Struggling clumsily, failing
- thrashingDecisive, lopsided defeat
- windmillingSpinning limbs in circles
- swingingMoving in arcs
- wavingSweeping hand gesture
gesticulating · convulsive · jerky · uncontrolled · spasmodic · frenetic · chaotic · twitchy
Close-quarters combat technique
- founderingFailing completely, sinking
- strugglingExperiencing serious difficulty
- drowningDeath by water inhalation
- scramblingMoving clumsily in haste
failing · stumbling · blundering · faltering · wrestling · contending · striving · straining
floundering
Struggling clumsily, failing
- thrashingDecisive, lopsided defeat
- windmillingSpinning limbs in circles
- swingingMoving in arcs
waving · gesticulating · convulsive · jerky · uncontrolled · spasmodic · frenetic · chaotic · twitchy · lurching
grappling
Close-quarters combat technique
- founderingFailing completely, sinking
- strugglingExperiencing serious difficulty
- drowningDeath by water inhalation
scrambling · failing · stumbling · blundering · faltering · wrestling · contending · striving · straining · battling
threshing
Extracting grain from stalks
barley · chaff · winnowing · harvest · barn · sheaves · beating · separation · agricultural · traditional
flailedglided
Moved without apparent effort
controlled · measured · poised · coordinated · posed
- flailing arms
- flail aboutMove limbs uncontrollably
- flailing aboutUncontrolled limb movements
- flailed aboutMoved limbs erratically