flagellate

F4L1A1G2E1L1L1A1T1E1
US/ˈflæ.d͡ʒəˌleɪt/US/fləˈd͡ʒɛ.lət/

verb

To whip or scourge.

Similar
flagellatedwhiplikelash-likeflagellate protozoanflagellated protozoanmastigophoranmastigophorescourge
OriginLatin flagellātu ← Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₂-? →
RareScrabble 14
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Meanings

flagellate1

verbflagellate (third-person singular simple present flagellates, present participle flagellating, simple past and past participle flagellated)

present singular third person flagellates · participle present flagellating · participle past flagellated · past flagellated

  1. transitiveTo whip or scourge.

    Red welts rising from a flagellated back

    1976 December 11, David Holland, “A Conversation With Maitresse”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 24, page 13
  2. idiomatictransitiveTo harshly chide or chastise, to reprimand.
  3. transitiveOf a spermatozoon, to move its tail back and forth.

    The gigantic egg sits, and the frantic and tiny sperm flagellates its tail to cross vast distances on its quest for dissolution in the huge egg.

    1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 63

flagellate2

adjectiveflagellate (comparative more flagellate, superlative most flagellate)

comparative more flagellate · superlative most flagellate

  1. Resembling a whip.
  2. biologyHaving flagella.
nounflagellate (plural flagellates)

plural flagellates

  1. biologyAny organism that has flagella.

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivehaving or resembling a lash or whip (as does a flagellum)

Similar
flagellatedwhiplikelash-like

nouna usually nonphotosynthetic free-living protozoan with whiplike appendages; some are pathogens of humans and other animals

Similar
flagellate protozoanflagellated protozoanmastigophoranmastigophore
Broader
protozoanprotozoon

verbwhip

Similar
scourge
Broader
flogweltwhip
Also see
flogmastigophoranmastigophorescourgewhipwhiplike

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

flagellate · verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰleh₂-?
  2. Latinflagrum
  3. Latinflagellum
  4. Latinflagellō
  5. Latinflagellātu
  6. Englishflagellate

First attested in 1623; borrowed from Latin flagellātus perfect passive participle of flagellō (“to whip, flog”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

flagellate · adjective, noun

First attested in 1867; from flagellum + -ate (adjective-forming suffix) as well as Latin flagellum + -ate. The noun was substantivized from the adjective, see -ate (noun-forming suffix).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian бичувам, камшичест
  • бичувам (bičuvam)1. to whip or scourge
  • камшичест (kamšičest)biology: having flagella
Catalan flagel·lar, flagel·lar
  • flagel·lar1. to whip or scourge
  • flagel·larbiology: having flagella
Chinese Mandarin 鞭毛蟲 /鞭毛虫
  • 鞭毛蟲 /鞭毛虫 (biānmáochóng)organism with flagella
Esperanto skurĝi
  • skurĝi1. to whip or scourge
Finnish piiskata, piiskamainen
  • piiskata1. to whip or scourge
  • piiskamainenresembling a whip
  • siima-biology: having flagella
  • siimaeliöorganism with flagella
German Geißeltierchen
  • Geißeltierchenorganism with flagella
Italian flagelare, flagellato
  • flagelare1. to whip or scourge
  • flagellatoorganism with flagella
Latin flagellō
  • flagellō1. to whip or scourge
Polish biczować, biczowy
  • biczować1. to whip or scourge
  • biczowyresembling a whip
  • wiciowybiology: having flagella
  • wiciowiecorganism with flagella
Russian поро́ть, жгу́тиковый
  • поро́ть (porótʹ)1. to whip or scourge
  • жгу́тиковый (žgútikovyj)biology: having flagella
  • жгутиконо́сец (žgutikonósec)organism with flagella
Spanish flagelar, flagelar
  • flagelar1. to whip or scourge
  • flagelar2. (transitive) To harshly chide or chastise, to reprimand.
Swedish flagellera, piska
  • flagellera1. to whip or scourge
  • piska1. to whip or scourge
  • gissla1. to whip or scourge
Vietnamese trùng roi
  • trùng roiorganism with flagella

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with flagellate

appellatezealotprelatestellatedinoflagellatebiflagellateflabellatehelotlamellatepatellatephytoflagellatescutellatesubstellate
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

flagellate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flagellate

MLA

“flagellate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flagellate. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “flagellate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flagellate.

Source: flagellate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.