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
Travis Bean, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
Making these conjunctions, for instance, between the Saint-Chapelle, which is this jewel of flamboyant middle-age architecture, and an abstract mobile.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 7 Mar. 2025
The former is having a big, flamboyant moment, with Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, and Lady Gaga all wearing the double-decker hairstyle to the Grammy Awards last month.
—Marci Robin, Allure, 6 Mar. 2025
There’s something distinctly old-world about his sensibility: the flamboyant style and fashion-model cheekbones, the unabashed showmanship of his live performances, his reliance not on production bells and whistles but the sheer force of his voice.
—Liam Hess, Vogue, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flamboyant
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Adjective
The star of this particular show is Momoa, who injects Fast X with a fresh burst of energy, playing a flamboyant, unpredictable villain who treats revenge as performance art.
—Travis Bean, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
Making these conjunctions, for instance, between the Saint-Chapelle, which is this jewel of flamboyant middle-age architecture, and an abstract mobile.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 7 Mar. 2025
The former is having a big, flamboyant moment, with Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, and Lady Gaga all wearing the double-decker hairstyle to the Grammy Awards last month.
—Marci Robin, Allure, 6 Mar. 2025
There’s something distinctly old-world about his sensibility: the flamboyant style and fashion-model cheekbones, the unabashed showmanship of his live performances, his reliance not on production bells and whistles but the sheer force of his voice.
—Liam Hess, Vogue, 6 Mar. 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 23 Mar. 2025.
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