flirtatious
Americanadjective
-
given to flirtation
-
expressive of playful sexual invitation
a flirtatious glance
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of flirtatious
First recorded in 1825–35; flirtat(ion) + -ious
Explanation
When you're flirtatious, you have a playful kind of banter, especially with someone in whom you're romantically interested. Your heart will flutter if your crush gives you a flirtatious smile. You might expect two lovesick teenagers to be flirtatious with each other, while it's deeply embarrassing to watch your grandmother treat her favorite waiter in a flirtatious way. Don't take it too seriously, though — there's a lightheartedness to all flirtatious behavior. In fact, the unserious 16th-century meaning of flirt was "to flit inconstantly from object to object."
Vocabulary lists containing flirtatious
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Flirtatious and spirited in the first act, Kurzak found her instrument pressed to, and past, its limits in the high — eventually homicidal — drama of the second.
From New York Times • Mar. 3, 2022
Q. Flirtatious Boyfriend: My boyfriend and I have been together for about eight months now.
From Slate • Jan. 15, 2013
Flirtatious, attractive and feisty, she refused to marry a German prince.
From BBC • Jan. 1, 2013
Homewood Flirtatious, the 1935 winner, did no better.
From Time Magazine Archive
Last year, Sulu had the honor of working in the runoffs as brace mate to Homewood Flirtatious the day Homewood Flirtatious won the Trials.
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
