flam·boy·ant
flam-ˈbȯi-ənt 
1
: marked by or given to strikingly elaborate or colorful display or behavior
a flamboyant performer
2
often capitalized
: characterized by waving curves suggesting flames
flamboyant tracery
flamboyant architecture
flamboyantly
adverb
Did you know?
Flamboyant, which was borrowed into English from French in the 19th century, can be traced back to Old French flambe, meaning "flame." In its earliest uses flamboyant referred to a style of architecture, often in the florid French Gothic style, which featured waving curves that suggested flames. Eventually, the word developed a more general second sense for anything eye-catching or showy. And of course, Old French flambe is also the origin of the English adjective flambé.
Examples of flamboyant in a Sentence
Adjective
Crazy artists, or flamboyant ones, can be strangely comforting. We feel we understand where their visions come from; we're lulled by the symmetry of turbulent art and turbulent lives.
—
Stephen Schiff, New Yorker, 28 Dec. 1992–4 Jan. 1993
Equally flamboyant is the group's singer, Andy Bell, who prances around the stage dressed at various times like an astronaut, a space creature or a Mexican senorita.
—Jim Farber, Video Review, August 1990
… he was living in the flamboyant, urbane manner he craved, in an apartment that suited his Balzacian fantasies of success …
—Raymond Sokolov, Wayward Reporter, 1980
the flamboyant gestures of the conductor
has a gallery of flamboyant gestures that makes him easy to imitate
Stephen Schiff, New Yorker, 28 Dec. 1992–4 Jan. 1993
Equally flamboyant is the group's singer, Andy Bell, who prances around the stage dressed at various times like an astronaut, a space creature or a Mexican senorita.
—Jim Farber, Video Review, August 1990
… he was living in the flamboyant, urbane manner he craved, in an apartment that suited his Balzacian fantasies of success …
—Raymond Sokolov, Wayward Reporter, 1980
the flamboyant gestures of the conductor
has a gallery of flamboyant gestures that makes him easy to imitate
Recent Examples on the Web
Caity Weaver, The Atlantic, 5 June 2025
Trump was rewriting reality again Friday afternoon as one of the most flamboyant, destructive bromances in government history petered out in the Oval Office.
—Maureen Dowd, Mercury News, 4 June 2025
When the flamboyant Henry Paget arrives in 1890s North Wales from France to claim his aristocratic inheritance, his theatrical flair and defiant eccentricities send shockwaves through the upper-class elite, much to the amusement of the local townspeople.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 6 May 2025
In it, Miller explores how Black people, and Black men, in particular, through the culture of dandyism, have used flamboyant fashion to navigate identity and expand their possibilities in otherwise limiting environments.
—Karla Marie Sanford, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for flamboyant
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Adjective
While the boorish behavior of Twain’s shipmates is cataloged throughout (snapping off pieces of ancient monuments for souvenirs, for instance), his most flamboyant portrayal is a self-portrait.
—Caity Weaver, The Atlantic, 5 June 2025
Trump was rewriting reality again Friday afternoon as one of the most flamboyant, destructive bromances in government history petered out in the Oval Office.
—Maureen Dowd, Mercury News, 4 June 2025
When the flamboyant Henry Paget arrives in 1890s North Wales from France to claim his aristocratic inheritance, his theatrical flair and defiant eccentricities send shockwaves through the upper-class elite, much to the amusement of the local townspeople.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 6 May 2025
In it, Miller explores how Black people, and Black men, in particular, through the culture of dandyism, have used flamboyant fashion to navigate identity and expand their possibilities in otherwise limiting environments.
—Karla Marie Sanford, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for flamboyant
Cite this Entry
“Flamboyant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flamboyant. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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