flagrant
Americanadjective
-
shockingly noticeable or evident; obvious; glaring.
a flagrant error.
-
notorious; scandalous.
a flagrant crime; a flagrant offender.
- Synonyms:
- egregious, monstrous, disgraceful
-
Archaic. blazing, burning, or glowing.
adjective
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openly outrageous
-
obsolete burning or blazing
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of flagrant
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin flagrant- (stem of flagrāns ), present participle of flagrāre “to burn”; see -ant
Explanation
Something flagrant is bad — so bad you can't ignore it. A flagrant foul in sports might send you to the bench, and a flagrant violation of the law might send you to the slammer. The current meaning of the adjective flagrant — "obviously offensive or disgraceful" — is thought to derive from the Latin legal term in flagrante delicto, which literally meant "with fire still blazing" and is used figuratively to describe a situation in which the criminal is caught red handed. Aside from a flagrant abuse of the law, the word can also be used to describe anything that is obviously bad — like flagrant bad taste or flagrant abuse of the rules of grammar.
Vocabulary lists containing flagrant
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Grade 11, List 1
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The Scarlet Letter
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In June, the Housing and Urban Development Department cut off federal funding for L.A.’s homeless agency, citing fraud and flagrant mismanagement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
That imbalance is precisely why “Supergirl” being a flagrant misstep is such a disappointment.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026
The problem was that the idea that the Fed would act in a market crisis encouraged ever more flagrant risk-taking on Wall Street.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
Al Jazeera said Wishah's death on Saturday "constitutes a new and flagrant violation of all international laws and norms, and reflects a continued systematic policy of targeting journalists and silencing the voice of truth".
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026
They alone had a sense of adventure and were flagrant in their enjoyment of the automobile’s plushness.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
