bouffant

American  

[boo-fahnt, boo-fahnt, boo-fahn] / buˈfɑnt, ˈbu fɑnt, buˈfɑ̃ /

adjective

1. puffed out; full.

   a bouffant skirt.

---

noun

1. a woman's hairstyle in which the hair is teased to give an overall puffed-out appearance and often combed to frame the face.

bouffant British  

/ ˈbuːfɒŋ /

adjective

1. (of a hair style) having extra height and width through back-combing; puffed out

2. (of sleeves, skirts, etc) puffed out

---

noun

1. a bouffant hair style

Other Word Forms

• bouffancy noun
• semibouffant adjective

Etymology

Origin of bouffant

First recorded in 1875–80; from French: literally, “swelling” ( bouff(er) “to swell” + -ant adjective suffix; -ant )

Example Sentences

Jay, with his bouffant curly hair and preternatural ability to remember the smallest details, became a de facto musical matchmaker.

From Los Angeles Times

This year, the Dominican rapper supported her friend by walking the runway in a retro bouffant and black funeral dress.

From Los Angeles Times

Her head tilted from side to side, her mile-high bouffant swinging along.

From Literature

She certainly had a steady personal style; she never changed her bouffant hairstyle with its little flip, and to my eye always looked like a glamorous version of a 1950s housewife.

From Los Angeles Times

Sporting a flipped bouffant hairstyle and a floral wiggle dress that harked back to the 1967 film “Valley of the Dolls,” she’s not just immaculately preened for her inaugural L.A.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• braid
• dreadlocks
• haircut
• hairdo
• headdress
• ponytail