flâneur

American  

[flah-nur, flah-nœr] / flɑˈnɜr, flɑˈnœr /

noun

French.

flâneurs plural

1. a person who lounges or strolls around in a seemingly aimless way; an idler or loafer.

   the flâneur, that cool, aloof observer of urban society.

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flâneur British  

/ flɑnœr /

noun

1. an idler or loafer

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• flâneurs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of flâneur

First recorded in 1850–55; from French: literally, “loafer, idler, man about town,” equivalent to flân-, stem of flâner “to waste time” + -eur ( def. ); cf. flânerie ( def. )

Example Sentences

The French future belonged to the flâneur, the man of sensibility, at home in the crowd.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026

“He was the quintessential bohemian flâneur, just this extraordinary figure who you couldn’t miss walking up and down the streets.”

From New York Times • Mar. 29, 2024

In 1966, even as Ruscha rolled down the boulevard clicking his camera like an old-time flâneur, those convulsions were rocking the Sunset Strip.

From Washington Post • Jan. 7, 2021

The images in “Blind Spot,” paired together, form a travelogue of a global flâneur, as Cole strolls through Tivoli, Brooklyn and Brazzaville, his camera capturing glimpses and fleeting impressions.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2017

He was by nature a flâneur, a gossip, a lover of expensive luxuries and frivolous pleasures.

From Charlotte's Inheritance by Braddon, M. E. (Mary Elizabeth)