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
Cathrin Schaer, Footwear News, 6 July 2025
Buenos Aires Reuters — Argentina’s top court effectively banned two-term former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner from office and upheld a six-year jail sentence, likely drawing a curtain on one of the country’s most flamboyant and divisive political careers.
—Reuters, CNN Money, 10 June 2025
Not to say that Anderson is equal to Welles’s genius, only that no other contemporary filmmaker is as art-conscious, flamboyant, and quirky.
—Armond White, National Review, 30 May 2025
Known for their flamboyant costumes and elaborate stage show that involved live lions and tigers, Siegfried & Roy became one of the most popular acts on the Las Vegas strip in the 1990s.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 12 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for flamboyant
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Adjective
But the use of glittering appliqué flowers, satiny fabrics and Lurex pinstripe suiting gave the smart-casual a subtly flamboyant edge.
—Cathrin Schaer, Footwear News, 6 July 2025
Buenos Aires Reuters — Argentina’s top court effectively banned two-term former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner from office and upheld a six-year jail sentence, likely drawing a curtain on one of the country’s most flamboyant and divisive political careers.
—Reuters, CNN Money, 10 June 2025
Not to say that Anderson is equal to Welles’s genius, only that no other contemporary filmmaker is as art-conscious, flamboyant, and quirky.
—Armond White, National Review, 30 May 2025
Known for their flamboyant costumes and elaborate stage show that involved live lions and tigers, Siegfried & Roy became one of the most popular acts on the Las Vegas strip in the 1990s.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 12 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 24 Jul. 2025.
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