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Like flip and flick, fillip is considered a phonetic imitation of the sharp release of a curled-up finger aimed to strike something. Language history suggests that people were filliping in the 15th-century, well before they were flipping and flicking. Specifically, fillip describes a strike or gesture made by the sudden straightening of a finger curled up against the thumb—a motion commonly referred to as a flick. It didn't take long before the sensational stinging smartness of filliping was extended to figurative use. "I mark this in our old Mogul's wine; it's quite as deadening to some as filliping to others," observes Herman Melville's Dutch sailor of wine's "stimulating" effect in Moby Dick.
Synonyms
Verb
- amp (up)
- animate
- brace
- energize
- enliven
- fire
- ginger (up)
- invigorate
- jazz (up)
- juice up
- jump-start
- liven (up)
- pep (up)
- quicken
- spike
- stimulate
- vitalize
- vivify
- zip (up)
Noun
- bang
- bash
- bat
- beat
- belt
- biff
- blow
- bop
- box
- buffet
- bust
- chop
- clap
- clip
- clout
- crack
- cuff
- dab
- douse [British]
- hack
- haymaker
- hit
- hook
- knock
- larrup [dialect]
- lash
- lick
- pelt
- pick
- plump
- poke
- pound
- punch
- rap
- slam
- slap
- slug
- smack
- smash
- sock
- spank
- stinger
- stripe
- stroke
- swat
- swipe
- switch
- thud
- thump
- thwack
- wallop
- welt
- whack
- wham
- whop
- whap
Examples of fillip in a Sentence
Milan Vaishnav, Foreign Affairs, 8 Mar. 2016
No doubt recipients will spend these monies quickly and provide an immediate fillip to consumer spending.
—Milton Ezrati, Forbes, 6 Oct. 2024
Cinema box office in China this year is lagging some 22% below 2023 levels and cinema operators could do with a fillip from a familiar and mass-market franchise.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 26 Sep. 2024
The cake-baking it so simple, wild out with the garnishing fillip.
—Scott Hocker, theweek, 10 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fillip 
Dictionary Entries Near fillip
Cite this Entry
“Fillip.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fillip. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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