flippant

adjective

ˈfli-pənt How to pronounce flippant (audio)
Definition of flippantnext
as in cute
making light of something usually regarded as serious or sacred his flippant comment that the poor save on taxes offended many people

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of flippant Diet culture doesn’t care about your health The flippant comments about this parasite belie the dominant belief that weight loss is inherently about pursuing health. — Oona Hanson, CNN Money, 25 July 2026 And for Lestat’s part, Louis has been flippant with his feelings. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 15 July 2026 Your method of dismissing your flippant remarks, then, is probably the next best option to silence. — R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2026 Chick lit was flippant and fizzy and fun, above all, as effervescent and guiltless as a vodka soda. — Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 4 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for flippant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flippant
  1. cute
  2. facetious
  3. playful
  4. inappropriate
  5. wise
Adjective
  • As a woman waded through the waters around the Bridge Side Marina in Bridge Isle, Louisiana, the tiny canine with a fluffy white coat wiggled his forelegs as if swimming, video of the cute moment shows.
    — Erika Angulo, NBC news, 11 Oct. 2026
  • The actress, who lends her voice to the fictional pop star Venus Nova in the film, sported a cute pair of strappy shoes that appear to be Manolo Blahnik’s Leva 105 Sandal.
    — Erin Wisti, Footwear News, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of cute
Adjective
  • The excess of emotion often scans as winkingly facetious, a dramatization to demonstrate just how deeply a person loves books.
    — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 8 July 2026
  • The first thing he was asked, by another reporter who witnessed the debate, was a facetious question of whether he’s given MVP any thought.
    — Jared Weiss, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2026
Definition of facetious
Adjective
  • In the Re/Icons clip, Cher tugs at the scarf in a playful reference to the show.
    — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
  • In their quiet, playful way, quaking bogs connect us, breaking through age and experience with the simple wonder of motion.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of playful
Adjective
  • On the police's Facebook account on Tuesday, officers criticized inappropriate comments and warned that sharing or joking about such incidents can worsen the impact on any victim.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • In addition, pharmaceutical advertising or education aimed at doctors may also increase inappropriate prescribing, probably increases the number of prescriptions written, and may increase the costs of prescriptions.
    — Ed Silverman, STAT, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of inappropriate
Adjective
  • Maybe there’s an equilibrium that must be restored on this show, relationship-wise.
    — Tom Smyth, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Anthropic updates its policies to bar users being cruel to Claude, inflaming a debate about whether the company’s concern for ‘model welfare’ is wise.
    — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of wise

Browse Nearby Words

flippancy
flippant
flipped
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Flippant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flippant. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 16
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All