What does spread-eagle mean?
Spread-eagle means Lying with arms and legs outstretched and separated..
Spread-eagle
Pronunciation varies by accent · adjective
Meaning
Lying with arms and legs outstretched and separated..
Definitions by Sense
- Lying with arms and legs outstretched and separated.
- (dated, US) Characterized by a pretentious, boastful, exaggerated style; bombastic.
- (transitive) To put into a spread-eagle position, with arms and legs extended and spread.
- (intransitive) To put one's body in a spread eagle.
Example Sentences
Our former townsman, Mr. G. F. Train, has recently made a tremendous spread-eagle speech in England, upon the occasion of the reopening of trade between Liverpool and New Zealand […]
But Mr. Lloyd is not a spread-eagle patriot, or much given to political partisanship.
The firm did a large and lucrative business from the start, the orders from spread-eagle orators often taxing the full capacity of its works.
Synonyms for spread-eagle
Antonyms for spread-eagle
Related Words
Word Forms
- more spread-eagle
- most spread-eagle
- spread-eagles
- spread-eagling
- spread-eagled
Usage Notes
Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.
Practice and Learn More
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a synonym for spread-eagle?
Common synonyms include rout, extended, spreadeagle.
What is the opposite of spread-eagle?
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
How do you use spread-eagle in a sentence?
Our former townsman, Mr. G. F. Train, has recently made a tremendous spread-eagle speech in England, upon the occasion of the reopening of trade between Liverpool and New Zealand […]
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.