flamboyant

Syllables: flam·boy·antUK/flamˈbɔɪ.ənt//flæmˈbɔɪ.(j)ənt/

flamboyant adjective: showy, bold or audacious in behaviour, appearance, style, etc.; ostentatious.

Adjective (1)

flamboyant (comparative more flamboyant, superlative most flamboyant)

Showy, bold or audacious in behaviour, appearance, style, etc.; ostentatious.
- When we see some of the monstrous and flamboyant blossoms that enrich the equatorial woods, we do not feel that they are conflagrations of nature; silent explosions of her frightful energy. We simply find it hard to believe that they are not wax flowers grown under a glass case.1902, G. K. Chesterton, “The Optimism of Byron”, in Twelve Types
- But a scorn of flamboyant neckties and checkerboard trousers is no excuse for going to the opposite extreme of a blue flannel shirt and overalls; […] .1920, Frederic Taber Cooper, The Craftsmanship of Writing, Chapter VI: The Question of Clearness
Synonyms:

sassy, operatic, extravagant
Referring to the final stage of French Gothic architecture from the 14th to the 16th centuries.
- S. Pierre is a flamboyant church, the details passing into Renaissance.1891, Sabine Baring-Gould, chapter XIX, in In Troubadour-Land: A Ramble in Provence and Languedoc, Avignon
- The second is a chapel of two storeys, the lower dating from 1150, while the upper was rebuilt in the 15th century, and there is a rich Flamboyant entrance with a stairway (1533).1911, “Bruges”, in Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
Of a blade: forged in a wavy, undulating pattern, like a flame-bladed sword or a kris.
- Ancient swords were frequently “flamboyant,” or with waved edges; more especially those used for purposes of state. The Dukes of Burgundy bore a two-handed sword of this form. Indeed, “flaming swords,” as they were called, were worn down to the times of our Charles II., and perhaps later.1851 April 12, William John Bernhard-Smith, Notes and Queries, volume s1-III, number 76, London: Bell & Daldy, →ISSN, page 292
Synonyms:

serpentine

Noun

flamboyant (plural flamboyants)

The royal poinciana (Delonix regia), a showy tropical tree from Madagascar.
- The schooners moored to the quay are trim and neat, the little town along the bay is white and urbane, and the flamboyants, scarlet against the blue sky, flaunt their colour like a cry of passion.1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter 45, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC

Adjective (2) capitalized: Flamboyant

Flamboyant (comparative more Flamboyant, superlative most Flamboyant)

Alternative letter-case form of flamboyant.

flamboyant meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Bengali

flamboyant in Tamil

tree: செம்மயிர்க்கொன்றை cemmayirkkoṉṟai

flamboyant in Bengali

tree: কৃষ্ণচূড়া kriśnocuṛa

More languagesFewer languages

flamboyant in Telugu: తురాయి turāyi
flamboyant in Malayalam: ഗുൽമോഹർ gulmōhaṟ
flamboyant in Kannada: ಗುಲ್ಮಹರ್ gulmahar
flamboyant in Punjabi: ਗੁਲਮੋਹਰ gulmohar
flamboyant in Odia: କୃଷ୍ଣଚୂଡ଼ା kruṣṇacuṛā
flamboyant in Assamese: কৃষ্ণচূড়া krisnosura
flamboyant in Nepali: गुलमोहर gulmohar
flamboyant in Tagalog: puno ng apoy
flamboyant in Indonesian: flamboyan
flamboyant in Vietnamese: phượng, phượng vĩ
flamboyant in Myanmar: စိန်ပန်းပင် cinpan:pang

Examples of flamboyant in a sentence

The unbelievers will say they are but words, but a slogan, but a flamboyant phrase.1962 May 12, Douglas MacArthur, Duty, honor, country:
Health of flamboyant media tycoon who led three Italian governments had deteriorated in recent years[.]2023 June 12, Angela Giuffrida, Lorenzo Tondo, “Silvio Berlusconi, scandal-ridden former Italian prime minister, dies aged 86”, in The...
The nave and central tower, more flamboyant in design, were finished early in the sixteenth century after the original plan.1913, “Abbey of Saint-Ouen”, in Catholic Encyclopedia:

All 31 example sentences with flamboyant

Synonyms of flamboyant

Forms of flamboyant

Adjective
comparative	more flamboyant
superlative	most flamboyant
alternative form	Flamboyant
comparative	more Flamboyant
superlative	most Flamboyant
Noun
plural	flamboyants

Origin of flamboyant

Borrowed from French flamboyant (“flaming, wavy”), participle of flamboyer (“to flame”), from Old French flamboier, from flambe (“flame”). The architectural style derives its name from the flame-like shapes in the tracery.

Words formed from flamboyant

Phrases with flamboyant

flamboyant cuttlefishes

Words that rhyme with flamboyant

Questions about flamboyant

What does flamboyant mean?: Flamboyant means showy, bold or audacious in behaviour, appearance, style, etc.; ostentatious.
What is flamboyant in Hindi?: Flamboyant in Hindi is गुलमोहर (gulmohar). See Flamboyant meaning in Hindi.
How do you use flamboyant in a sentence?: The unbelievers will say they are but words, but a slogan, but a flamboyant phrase.
What part of speech is flamboyant?: Flamboyant can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce flamboyant?: Flamboyant is pronounced /flamˈbɔɪ.ənt/ (UK).

Words near flamboyant in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: flamboyant (page history and authors); Flamboyant (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-flamboyant.ogg, en-au-flamboyant.ogg.

Cite this entry: “flamboyant.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/flamboyant. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.