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You've read about funeral pyres, and you may even have survived a pyromaniac ("insane fire-starting") stage in your youth, so you might have guessed that pyr means "fire" in Greek. Pyrotechnic refers literally to fireworks, but always seems to be used for something else—something just as exciting, explosive, dazzling, sparkling, or brilliant. The performances of sports stars and dancers are often described as pyrotechnic, and a critic may describe the pyrotechnics of a rock guitarist's licks or a film's camerawork. A pyrotechnic performance is always impressive, but the word occasionally suggests something more like "flashy" or "flamboyant".
Examples of pyrotechnic in a Sentence
Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2025
Other fresh ideas to be rolled out have included the ref cams, new line-up formations, and stadium show elements such as pyrotechnic displays, which are set to develop further throughout the tournament stages.
—Eduardo Tansley, New York Times, 18 June 2025
Olivia Petty, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 June 2025
With few exceptions, the penalty for setting off professional-grade pyrotechnics is small and difficult to enforce.
—Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for pyrotechnic
Cite this Entry
“Pyrotechnic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pyrotechnic. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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