flippant
[flip-uh nt]
- 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.
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Origin of flippant
Synonyms
See more synonyms for flippant on Thesaurus.com1. saucy, impertinent, impudent.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for flippantly
Historical Examples
"Fool if she doesn't," replied this elegant young gentleman, flippantly.
Australia RevengedBoomerang
"I hope none of God's bears is roaming about," replied Alice, flippantly.
They of the High TrailsHamlin Garland
“Oh, only made some funny noises,” retorted Miss Jones, flippantly.
Joan of Arc of the North WoodsHolman Day
In reference to this it is flippantly asked, 'What does the house build?'
The VerbalistThomas 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 MindHerbert J. Hall
flippant
- marked by inappropriate levity; frivolous or offhand
- impertinent; saucy
- obsolete talkative or nimble
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Word Origin
C17: perhaps from flip
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper