flam·boy·ant
flam-ˈbȯi-ənt 
1
: marked by or given to strikingly elaborate or colorful display or behavior that attracts attention
a flamboyant performer
… the women and girls clad in dismal … dresses that made us Presbyterians seem almost flamboyant.—
Sue Monk Kidd
Sue Monk Kidd2
often Flamboyant
: 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
Bestreviews, Mercury News, 28 Oct. 2025
The pair bonded over punk and electronic music and cult films; after a few weeks of futzing with a Korg synthesizer, Ball enlisted his flamboyant new friend as a bandmate.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2025
Liberace’s flamboyant heir, Elton John, validated his success with a white Phantom VI.
—Brett Berk, HollywoodReporter, 19 Oct. 2025
In DaCosta’s hands, Ibsen’s emotionally extreme but tonally restrained play becomes a spectacular, flamboyant melodrama, with physical action as intense as the characters’ inner worlds.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flamboyant
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Adjective
Bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden wore flannels to set themselves apart from more flamboyant 1980s rock and metal bands.
—Bestreviews, Mercury News, 28 Oct. 2025
The pair bonded over punk and electronic music and cult films; after a few weeks of futzing with a Korg synthesizer, Ball enlisted his flamboyant new friend as a bandmate.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2025
Liberace’s flamboyant heir, Elton John, validated his success with a white Phantom VI.
—Brett Berk, HollywoodReporter, 19 Oct. 2025
In DaCosta’s hands, Ibsen’s emotionally extreme but tonally restrained play becomes a spectacular, flamboyant melodrama, with physical action as intense as the characters’ inner worlds.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 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 6 Nov. 2025.
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