as in scatterbrain
a silly flighty person
forced to endure a long flight with a flibbertigibbet as a seat companion
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Recent Examples of flibbertigibbet
Winnie, on the other hand, is a flibbertigibbet of stream-of-consciousness.
—
Han Ong, New Yorker, 22 June 2025
Duvall is a big reason why: All the film’s insights into the slipperiness of identity are there in her casually virtuosic, veritable dual performance, in which a funny flibbertigibbet loses hold of herself as the world around seems to splinter into something frighteningly new.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 19 July 2024
Projects about Monroe have handled her personal life to varying degrees of success, often leaning into her flibbertigibbet persona, her struggles with addiction, and the paradox of her oozing sexuality and her little girl brokenness.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 24 Jan. 2023
Miranda Hart is touching as the flibbertigibbet Miss Bates, whom Emma thoughtlessly mocks.
—Caryn James, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Feb. 2020
The thought leader of the hippie girls is played by that avatar of feminine passive-aggressive flibbertigibbet solipsism, Lena Dunham, the polar opposite of the no-nonsense, two-fisted, self-contained, masculine ideal represented by Cliff.
—Kyle Smith, National Review, 13 Dec. 2019
Instead of acting cool and sophisticated our narrator prattled like a flibbertigibbet.
—Sam Sacks, WSJ, 6 Apr. 2018
Warning: The book has my three-year-old calling her grandmother a flibbertigibbet.
—Megan Gambino, Smithsonian, 18 Dec. 2017
And never mind that its mother is a flibbertigibbet who has no business having a baby.
—Matt Giles, Longreads, 29 Sep. 2017
Han Ong, New Yorker, 22 June 2025
Duvall is a big reason why: All the film’s insights into the slipperiness of identity are there in her casually virtuosic, veritable dual performance, in which a funny flibbertigibbet loses hold of herself as the world around seems to splinter into something frighteningly new.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 19 July 2024
Projects about Monroe have handled her personal life to varying degrees of success, often leaning into her flibbertigibbet persona, her struggles with addiction, and the paradox of her oozing sexuality and her little girl brokenness.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 24 Jan. 2023
Miranda Hart is touching as the flibbertigibbet Miss Bates, whom Emma thoughtlessly mocks.
—Caryn James, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Feb. 2020
The thought leader of the hippie girls is played by that avatar of feminine passive-aggressive flibbertigibbet solipsism, Lena Dunham, the polar opposite of the no-nonsense, two-fisted, self-contained, masculine ideal represented by Cliff.
—Kyle Smith, National Review, 13 Dec. 2019
Instead of acting cool and sophisticated our narrator prattled like a flibbertigibbet.
—Sam Sacks, WSJ, 6 Apr. 2018
Warning: The book has my three-year-old calling her grandmother a flibbertigibbet.
—Megan Gambino, Smithsonian, 18 Dec. 2017
And never mind that its mother is a flibbertigibbet who has no business having a baby.
—Matt Giles, Longreads, 29 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flibbertigibbet
Noun
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Rather than stay pigeonholed as a ditz, Simpson (who just released new music for the first time in 15 years) went on to launch her own fashion brand, which hit $1 billion in sales in 2015 and is still going strong today.—
EW Staff,
EW.com,
20 Mar. 2025
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Besides offering a cash prize of up to $250,000, the show can help change perception of a villain or a ditz and be a springboard for their next casting.—
Shivani Gonzalez,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
But no, sillies: Bradley is white, famous and pretty — no jail time for her!—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
17 Sep. 2025
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It was shot in portrait because it was shot in Instagram by and for a woman who was losing her mind in quarantine and had fully let the sillies take the wheel.—
Ego Nwodim,
TIME,
12 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The mind wants desperately to connect with a person—and fools itself into seeing one in a machine.—
Damon Beres,
The Atlantic,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Since medieval times, the colorful fool—from court jesters to Shakespeare’s characters—has used playful wit to critique authority and buffoonery to whip up excitement.—
Time,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
After earning an Academy Award nomination for her performance in Good Will Hunting (1997), Minnie Driver went on to a long, varied career in lavish musicals (The Phantom of the Opera), Disney fairytales (Cinderella), romantic dramas (Beyond the Lights), and cuckoo action fare (The Beekeeper).—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Dec. 2025
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Another button activates an alarm, which can be the sound of a bell, a horn, a cuckoo, a beeping, or a two-tone chime.—
Calvin Tomkins,
New Yorker,
15 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Foie gras — or fattened liver of a duck or goose — is a delicacy in French cooking that is occasionally featured on higher-end restaurants’ menus.—
Elliott Wenzler,
Denver Post,
30 Dec. 2025
-
End-of-season closeout deals are up to 81% off, including comforters filled with goose feathers, gel fibers, silk, and more.—
Mariana Best,
Better Homes & Gardens,
28 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flibbertigibbet.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flibbertigibbet. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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