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flagrant

[fley-gruhnt]
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adjective
  1. shockingly noticeable or evident; obvious; glaring: a flagrant error.
  2. notorious; scandalous: a flagrant crime; a flagrant offender.
  3. Archaic. blazing, burning, or glowing.
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Origin of flagrant

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin flagrant- (stem of flagrāns), present participle of flagrāre to burn; see -ant
Related formsfla·gran·cy, fla·grance, fla·grant·ness, nounfla·grant·ly, adverbnon·fla·grance, nounnon·fla·gran·cy, nounnon·fla·grant, adjectivenon·fla·grant·ly, adverbun·fla·grant, adjectiveun·fla·grant·ly, adverb
Can be confusedblatant flagrant (see synonym study at the current entry)flagrant fragrant

Synonyms for flagrant

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2. disgraceful, monstrous, egregious. Flagrant, glaring, gross, outrageous, rank are adjectives suggesting extreme offensiveness. Flagrant, with a root sense of flaming or flaring, suggests evil or immorality so evident that it cannot be ignored or overlooked: a flagrant violation of the law. Glaring, meaning “shining brightly,” is similar to flagrant in emphasizing conspicuousness but usually lacks the imputation of immorality: a glaring error in computing the interest. Gross, which basically signifies excessive size, is even more negative in implication than the foregoing two terms, suggesting a mistake or impropriety of major proportions: a gross miscarriage of justice. Outrageous describes acts so far beyond the limits of decent behavior or accepted standards as to be totally insupportable: an outrageous abuse of the public trust. Rank, with its suggestion of bad odor, describes open offensiveness of the most objectionable kind, inviting total and unalloyed disapprobation: rank dishonesty, stinking to high heaven; Only rank stupidity would countenance such a step.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for flagrant

heinous, shameless, bold, egregious, conspicuous, atrocious, brazen, outrageous, obvious, shameful, notorious, shocking, glaring, disgraceful, undisguised, arrant, awful, capital, crying, dreadful

Examples from the Web for flagrant

Contemporary Examples of flagrant

Historical Examples of flagrant

  • He realized that his conduct was too flagrant to admit of defense, so he attempted none.

  • Some of the most flagrant of these, if not encouraged, have at least been sanctioned by the whites.

    Chronicles of Border Warfare

    Alexander Scott Withers

  • Now, however, the wrong was so flagrant that she resolved to speak to her son.

    The Downfall

    Emile Zola

  • It is painfully necessary to avoid open and flagrant scandal.

    The Island Mystery

    George A. Birmingham

  • And yet the treachery and the deceit were so flagrant that surely no condonation was possible.

    Olive in Italy

    Moray Dalton

British Dictionary definitions for flagrant

flagrant

adjective
  1. openly outrageous
  2. obsolete burning or blazing
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Derived Formsflagrancy, flagrance or flagrantness, nounflagrantly, adverb

Word Origin for flagrant

C15: from Latin flagrāre to blaze, burn
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

Word Origin and History for flagrant

adj.

c.1500, "resplendent," from Latin flagrantem (nominative flagrans) "burning, blazing, glowing," figuratively "glowing with passion, eager, vehement," present participle of flagrare "to burn, blaze, glow" from Latin root *flag-, corresponding to PIE *bhleg- "to shine, flash, burn" (cf. Greek phlegein "to burn, scorch," Latin fulgere "to shine"), from root *bhel- (1) "to shine, flash, burn" (see bleach (v.)). Sense of "glaringly offensive" first recorded 1706, probably from common legalese phrase in flagrante delicto "red-handed," literally "with the crime still blazing." Related: Flagrantly.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper