blatantly
Americanadverb
-
in a shameless or conspicuous way; flagrantly.
While many of those workers are joining unions, many others are being blatantly ripped off.
-
in a way that is tastelessly loud, garish, or obvious.
She dyes her hair blond, but leaves her dark brown roots blatantly visible.
Etymology
Origin of blatantly
Explanation
When you do something blatantly, you do it obviously, without trying to hide it. You might blatantly lie to your boss if you don't care about getting in trouble. Something done or said blatantly is bold and shameless. You might be doing something bad, but if you're doing it blatantly you're not worried about repercussions. In 1596, the poet Edmund Spenser invented the word blatant, using it to describe a slanderous beast. In the 1600s blatantly meant offensively loud, and by the late 1800s it had its current meaning of "conspicuously, obviously." A similar word is flagrantly, but you'd use it to mean "shockingly," while blatantly is closer to "obnoxiously."
Vocabulary lists containing blatantly
The Crucible
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The Wishing Spell
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Wit, Wisdom, AND Vocabulary from Those We Lost in 2015
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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.
In a rare move, Crenshaw dismissed the criminal indictment after declaring the prosecution against Abrego Garcia a blatantly tainted investigation “with a vindictive motive.”
From Slate • May 28, 2026
Former head of global research at JPMorgan, Marko Kolanovic, reacted to oil price moves following Wednesday’s Axios report, saying, “Who knows what happens next in blatantly manipulated markets” and called the outlet’s credibility into question.
From Salon • May 9, 2026
The result: The state looked hard at the practice, at the assisted-suicide physicians blatantly failing to follow the most minimal of safeguards, and then decided this year to “suspend” its monitoring program for the procedure.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025
Numerous rights groups urged MPs to reject the law, saying adopting it "would blatantly violate Kazakhstan's international human rights commitments," the International Partnership for Human Rights said in a statement.
From Barron's • Nov. 12, 2025
Even if he doesn’t show it blatantly, I can sense that he’s shaken.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
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.
