flay

(flā)
tr.v., flayed, flay·ing, flays.

1. To strip off the skin or outer covering of.
2. To strip of money or goods; fleece.
3. To whip or lash.
4. To assail with stinging criticism; excoriate.

[Middle English flen, from Old English flēan.]

flayer flay'er n.

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verb

To criticize harshly and devastatingly: blister, drub, excoriate, lash, rip into, scarify¹, scathe, scorch, score, scourge, slap, slash. Informal roast. Slang slam. Idioms: burn someone's ears, crawl all over, pin someone's ears back, put someone on the griddle, put someone on the hot seat, rake over the coals, read the riot act to. See praise/blame.

IN BRIEF: To skin. Also: to scold severely.

When the thief pleaded guilty for stealing the diamonds, the judge wanted to flay her by shouting loudly.

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To strip off the skin.

For a list of words related to flay, see:

• Blame, Censure, Ridicule, and Contempt - flay: (vb) criticize harshly
• Violent Actions - flay: skin, strip off surface

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See words rhyming with "flayer."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Flay.

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - flå

Nederlands (Dutch)
villen, plunderen, sterk bekritiseren, zwiepen, afpellen, afsteken (turf)

Français (French)
v. tr. - écorcher, éreinter, fouetter

Deutsch (German)
v. - häuten, abschälen, heruntermachen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - αφαιρώ το δέρμα, γδέρνω, ξετινάζω

Italiano (Italian)
scorticare, scuoiare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - pelar (animal), criticar severamente

Русский (Russian)
содрать кожу, разносить в пух и прах

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - desollar, quitar la piel, despellejar, pelar, excoriar, escorchar

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - flå, skinna (bildl.)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
剥皮, 抢夺, 去皮

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 剝皮, 搶奪, 去皮

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - (동물의) 껍질을 벗기다, ~을 혹평하다, 강탈하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 皮をはぐ, 酷評する, 厳しくしかる, 皮を剥ぐ, はぎ取る, 略奪する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يسلخ الجلد , ينهب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮פשט העור מ-, ביקר בחומרה, הוציא מידי אדם את רכושו‬

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