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bouffant

[ boo-fahnt, boo-fahnt; French boo-fahn ]
/ buˈfɑnt, ˈbu fɑnt; French buˈfɑ̃ /
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adjective
puffed out; full: a bouffant skirt.
noun
a woman's hairstyle in which the hair is teased to give an overall puffed-out appearance and often combed to frame the face.
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Origin of bouffant

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

OTHER WORDS FROM bouffant

bouf·fan·cy [boo-fuhn-see], /ˈbu fən si/, nounsem·i·bouf·fant, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bouffant in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bouffant

bouffant
/ (ˈbuːfɒŋ) /

adjective
(of a hair style) having extra height and width through back-combing; puffed out
(of sleeves, skirts, etc) puffed out
noun
a bouffant hair style

Word Origin for bouffant

C20: from French, from bouffer to puff up
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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