to thresh about
1
7.9
- phrasal verb
:
agitarse
- This had been thrashed about the room twice already, each time they came to Easter's name on the master list and his face hit the screen.
Examples
-
The dog began to thresh about in the water, trying to escape the cold.
-
After the storm, the tree branches continued to thresh about in the strong wind.
-
When she saw the spider, she threshed about in fright, knocking over her chair.
Synonyms
94
1.4
To move about in a violent or restless way
38
5.8
To wave arms or legs wildly
24
5.8
Move or swing violently without control
9
6.8
To move suddenly and violently to try to throw someone off
8
7.8
Shake hard and without control because of illness, a strong feeling, or a hit
1
7.0
To move your arms and body wildly or act in a messy way without success
1
6.1
Move the body violently when in pain or fear
1
8.9
Move violently without control, often by kicking when hurt
To move or shake your body suddenly and violently
Antonyms
How Violent
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to move, toss, or flail about violently' is directly built from 'thresh' (to thrash or move violently) plus 'about' (around/in different directions), so the overall sense is compositionally predictable. This verb + particle pattern is a regular English construction (similar to 'thrash about'/'flail about') and would be inferable by a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
Thresh about comes from the old farming word thresh, which meant to beat grain, and about, meaning around. Picture someone wildly moving their arms as if they are beating grain; that's why thresh about means 'to move or flail about violently'.