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
Vulture Staff, Vulture, 23 May 2025
Cautious of what some may think of unnecessarily flamboyant decor, Mulvaney wasn't aiming for pointless blasts of feminine touches everywhere.
—Moná Thomas, People.com, 22 May 2025
Gan lulls us into a false sense of familiarity with an opening built on flamboyant silent cinema techniques.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 22 May 2025
Pollard, the flamboyant 6-foot-11, 265-pound mountain of a man from San Diego, recalled those days with The Star in a phone interview Wednesday.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for flamboyant
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Adjective
While an undeniable sadness hangs over the series — a third film, not included here, resulted in the death of Roy Kinnear and the end of Lester’s directing career — these two are swashbuckling classics and must-haves for all fans of filmic swordplay and flamboyant chapeaus.
—Vulture Staff, Vulture, 23 May 2025
Cautious of what some may think of unnecessarily flamboyant decor, Mulvaney wasn't aiming for pointless blasts of feminine touches everywhere.
—Moná Thomas, People.com, 22 May 2025
Gan lulls us into a false sense of familiarity with an opening built on flamboyant silent cinema techniques.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 22 May 2025
Pollard, the flamboyant 6-foot-11, 265-pound mountain of a man from San Diego, recalled those days with The Star in a phone interview Wednesday.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 22 May 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 30 May. 2025.
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