flâneur

American  

[flah-nœr] / flɑˈnœr /

noun

French.

plural

flâneurs

1. a person who lounges or strolls around in a seemingly aimless way; an idler or loafer.

   the flâneur, that cool, aloof observer of urban society.

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flâneur British  

/ flɑnœr /

noun

1. an idler or loafer

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Etymology

Origin of flâneur

First recorded in 1850–55; from French: literally, “loafer, idler, man about town,” equivalent to flân-, stem of flâner “to waste time” + -eur ( def. ); cf. flânerie ( def. )

Example Sentences

The French future belonged to the flâneur, the man of sensibility, at home in the crowd.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026

A man like Rivera — just look at him — wasn’t about to sit on the sidelines like some wasted flâneur.

From Washington Post • Aug. 25, 2022

Our lives are busy with activities, but the flâneur simply watches.

From New York Times • Jul. 13, 2021

The images in “Blind Spot,” paired together, form a travelogue of a global flâneur, as Cole strolls through Tivoli, Brooklyn and Brazzaville, his camera capturing glimpses and fleeting impressions.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2017

The first thing that strikes an experienced eye in New York's great thoroughfare is the paucity of loiterers: he sees, at a glance, that the flâneur is an exotic here.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 110, December, 1866 A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and Politics by Various