flagellation /flaj′əlā″shən/ , 1. the act of whipping, beating, or flogging. 2. a type of massage administered by tapping the body with the fingers. See also massage. 3. a type of sexual deviation in which a person is erotically gratified by being whipped or by whipping another. See also masochism, sadism. 4. the arrangement of flagella on an organism; exflagellation.