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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.
Synonyms
Examples of flamboyant in a Sentence
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
Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Sep. 2024
The four-piece channels a flamboyant, flailing energy that conjures images of a ‘90s garage in the summer night, the door flipped up, amps at full volume, and glass 40 ounces in hand.
—Amanda Peukert, SPIN, 5 Sep. 2024
Currently, most gay filmmakers resort to politicized or flamboyant camp, so Merchant Ivory reports on men of the generation that, even during the AIDS crisis, chose genteel refinement as their preference and identity.
—Armond White, National Review, 4 Sep. 2024
The story of Giancarlo Parretti, the flamboyant Italian waiter-turned-financier who bought MGM in 1990 and was ousted and indicted when his takeover deal for the Hollywood studio collapsed, is in early stages of getting the big screen treatment.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 1 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for flamboyant 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'flamboyant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Flamboyant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flamboyant. Accessed 16 Sep. 2024.
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