buoyant

adjective buoy·ant \ ˈbȯi-ənt , ˈbü-yənt \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

Definition of buoyant

: having buoyancy

Warm air is more buoyant than cool air.

: such as

a : capable of floating

Cork is naturally buoyant.

b : cheerful, gay

in a buoyant mood

c : capable of maintaining a satisfactorily high level

a buoyant economy

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buoyantly

adverb

See buoyant defined for English-language learners

See buoyant defined for kids

Examples of buoyant in a Sentence

Warm air is more buoyant than cool air.
The actors were buoyant as they prepared for the evening's performance.

Recent Examples of buoyant from the Web

Patricia’s buoyant personality endeared him to players and colleagues during a 12-year run as an assistant with the New England Patriots, but few outside the walls got a chance to experience it firsthand.

— dave birkett, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia to new team: We're better than 9-7," 16 Apr. 2018
The dancers seemed to still be settling into Mr. Lubovitch’s fluid movement, which has a downward pull more buoyant than Graham’s.

— siobhan burke, New York Times, "Review: For the Martha Graham Company, Opposites Attract," 12 Apr. 2018
In many ways, the founders assembled at the shoot had good reason to feel buoyant.

— yasmin gagné, The Hive, "Behind the Scenes of Mark Seliger’s Historic Group Portrait of Entrepreneurs of Color," 12 Apr. 2018
While the show's book outshines the score, the songs pack in their share of wit, both in Benjamin's nimble lyrics (recalling her work on the Legally Blonde musical) and Richmond's buoyant tunes, which borrow with a wink from a variety of styles.

— david rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Mean Girls': Theater Review," 9 Apr. 2018
The levain should look bubbly, feel buoyant, and taste a little sweet.

— laura regensdorf, Vogue, "A Healthy Sourdough Focaccia Recipe for NYC’s Planned Parenthood Bake Sale," 8 Apr. 2018
Rising housing prices in the most economically buoyant big cities is producing a widening separation between upper- and lower-income neighborhoods with fewer middle-class communities left in between.

— ronald brownstein, CNN, "Fact-checking Tucker Carlson on diversity in America," 27 Mar. 2018
The show opens to the live music of the infectiously buoyant L.A. band Buyepongo.

— f. kathleen foley, latimes.com, "Culture Clash skewers immigration policy in wickedly wild 'Sapo'," 9 Feb. 2018
EasyJet’s share bump came in the context of a generally buoyant morning for European stocks, which came in the wake of news that the U.S. government shutdown had been brought to an end.

— david meyer, Fortune, "EasyJet Shares Pop as Airline Profits From Other Carriers' Woes," 14 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'buoyant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.