Whiplash

Origin

whip + lash

Noun

1. the lash of a whip
2. an injury to the upper spine caused by a violent jerk of the head in either a backward or forward or side to side direction

Synonyms

• whiplash injury (2)

Full definition of whiplash

Verb

1. To jerk back and forth; to buffet
• ... Ms. Kennedy has been whiplashed by assertions that she is at once protected and presumptuous.
2. To lash as if with a whip
• After a while, he let go of my hand in order to protect his own face from being whiplashed by the low branches.