lash out
Snap at someone
To lash out is to strike suddenly and violently, either physically or verbally.
The image is of a whip or tail snapping outward.
Someone who lashes out attacks without warning, usually from anger or feeling threatened: He lashed out at critics who questioned his motives.
The target often follows "at": She lashed out at her brother for borrowing her car.
attack
Aggressive act against another
strike · retaliate · rage · vent · snarl · lunge · hit · rebuke · denounce · condemn
- making troublemake waves, stir the pot, raise Cain, kick up a fuss, upset the apple cart
- angeranger, rage, fury, wrath, ire
- anger expressionssee red, seeing red, lose your temper, blow a fuse, blow a gasket
- Stress Responsespanic, freeze, fight, flight, cope
- outburstsoutburst, burst, eruption, tantrum, meltdown
- overreactpanic, explode, blow up, meltdown, tantrum
emotional response control
lash outmeasured response
Controlled, proportional reply
keep one's cool · bite one's tongue · count to ten · stay calm · hold back
out, lash, eyelash, backlash, lashed, lashing, lashes, eyelashes, whiplash