Word of the Day

: December 27, 2011

flagrant

adjective FLAY-grunt

What It Means

: conspicuously offensive; especially : so obviously inconsistent with what is right or proper as to appear to be a flouting of law or morality

flagrant in Context

The United Nations is investigating what seem to be flagrant violations of human rights by the junta.

"Wade missed the South Carolina game because of … a flagrant personal foul at Vanderbilt." -- From an article by Bob Holt and Tom Murphy in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, November 20, 2011

Did You Know?

In Latin, "flagrare" means "to burn," and "flagrans" means "burning" or "fiery hot" (both literally and figuratively). When it was first used in the 16th century, "flagrant" had the same meaning as "flagrans," but by the 18th century it had acquired its current meaning of "conspicuously bad." Some usage commentators warn against using "flagrant" and "blatant" interchangeably. While both words denote conspicuousness, they are not exact synonyms. "Blatant" is usually used of some person, action, or thing that attracts disapproving attention (e.g., "a blatant grammatical error"). "Flagrant" is used similarly, but usually carries a heavier weight of violated morality (e.g., "flagrant abuse of public office").