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

Words nearby bouffant

boudin, boudin blanc, boudin noir, boudoir, boudoir grand, bouffant, bouffe, Bougainville, bougainvillea, bough, boughed

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use bouffant in a sentence

Then again, gamers turning a bouffant-haired artist who died a quarter-century ago into a mass-culture phenomenon isn’t exactly out of a textbook either.
How the long-dead public-television painter Bob Ross became a streaming phenomenon (and kicked up plenty of dirt in the process)|Steven Zeitchik|July 30, 2021|Washington Post
And now the same thing is happening with her signature pillowy, bouffant hairstyle, reports The Daily Mail.
Margaret Thatcher's Hairstyle Craze|Misty White Sidell|April 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This time the actress is on set in Monte Carlo wearing a giant ball gown and bouffant hairdo.
Carine Roitfeld To Launch Fragrance, L'Wren Scott Might Design Angelina Jolie's Wedding Dress|The Fashion Beast Team|October 31, 2012|DAILY BEAST
For another, the woman singing it has ginger colored hair often styled in a retro Dusty Springfield-inspired bouffant.
Adele, Lady Gaga, and More Unconventional Pop Stars|Jacob Bernstein|March 10, 2011|DAILY BEAST

She ditches her plaid knee-highs for Audrey Hepburn-style shift dresses, fur stoles, red lipstick and a bouffant.
A Touch of Audrey|Rachel Syme|October 9, 2009|DAILY BEAST
She smiled to see the old men with their high-waisted pants and the old women with their bouffant hair.
Makers|Cory Doctorow
To the American eye it is a musical comedy costume, picturesque, bouffant, amazing.
Fanny Herself|Edna Ferber

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

bouffant

Origin of bouffant

OTHER WORDS FROM bouffant

Words nearby bouffant

Words related to bouffant

How to use bouffant in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bouffant

Word Origin for bouffant