flippant

[flip-uhnt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR flippant ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

frivolously disrespectful, shallow, or lacking in seriousness; characterized by levity: The audience was shocked by his flippant remarks about patriotism.

Chiefly Dialect. nimble, limber, or pliant.

Archaic. glib; voluble.

Origin of flippant

1595–1605; apparently flip¹ + -ant

Related formsflip·pan·cy, flip·pant·ness, nounflip·pant·ly, adverbun·flip·pant, adjectiveun·flip·pant·ly, adverb

Synonyms for flippant

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR flippant ON THESAURUS.COM

1. saucy, impertinent, impudent.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for flippantly

easily, delicately, casually, tenderly, moderately, gingerly, softly, simply, mildly, freely, quietly, slightly, sparsely, faintly, subtly, carelessly, indifferently, nimbly, peacefully, readily

Examples from the Web for flippantly

Historical Examples of flippantly

"Fool if she doesn't," replied this elegant young gentleman, flippantly.
Australia Revenged
Boomerang
"I hope none of God's bears is roaming about," replied Alice, flippantly.
They of the High Trails
Hamlin Garland
“Oh, only made some funny noises,” retorted Miss Jones, flippantly.
Joan of Arc of the North Woods
Holman Day
In reference to this it is flippantly asked, 'What does the house build?'
The Verbalist
Thomas Embly Osmun, (AKA Alfred Ayres)
Not flippantly, but reverently, leave your misdeeds in a limbo where they may not rise to haunt you.
The Untroubled Mind
Herbert J. Hall

British Dictionary definitions for flippantly

flippant

adjective

marked by inappropriate levity; frivolous or offhand

impertinent; saucy

obsolete talkative or nimble

Derived Formsflippancy, nounflippantly, adverb

Word Origin for flippant

C17: perhaps from flip

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 flippantly

flippant

adj.

c.1600, "talkative;" 1670s, "displaying unbecoming levity," apparently an extended form of flip (v.). Shortened form flip is attested from 1847. Related: Flippantly.