flounce

¹ American  

[flouns] / flaʊns /

verb (used without object)

flounced, flouncing

1. to go with impatient or impetuous, exaggerated movements.

   The star flounced out of the studio in a rage.

   Synonyms:

   bounce, prance, bound, storm

2. to throw the body about spasmodically; flounder.

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noun

1. an act or instance of flouncing; a flouncing movement.

flounce ² American  

[flouns] / flaʊns /

noun

1. a strip of material gathered or pleated and attached at one edge, with the other edge left loose or hanging: used for trimming, as on the edge of a skirt or sleeve or on a curtain, slipcover, etc.

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verb (used with object)

flounced, flouncing

1. to trim with flounces.

flounce ¹ British  

/ flaʊns /

verb

1. (intr; often foll by about, away, out, etc) to move or go with emphatic or impatient movements

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noun

1. the act of flouncing

flounce ² British  

/ flaʊns /

noun

1. an ornamental gathered ruffle sewn to a garment by its top edge

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Usage

What else does flounce mean? The internet slang term flounce means "to leave an online group in a dramatic manner," and may or may not involve burning a few bridges or stirring the pot on the way out.

Etymology

Origin of flounce¹

1535–45; of obscure origin; perhaps akin to Norwegian flunsa to hurry

Origin of flounce²

First recorded in 1665–75; alteration of obsolete frounce wrinkle

Explanation

To flounce is to move in an exaggerated, emphatic way, especially if your movement expresses anger or impatience. A young child who doesn't like what's for dinner might stand up and flounce away from the table. If you feel you've been misunderstood, you might need to stifle the urge to flounce off in a huff — it's more mature to stay and try to explain yourself. Flounce is also a noun, meaning both the action of flouncing and a ruffle: "I'll make this dress look fancier by sewing a flounce on the bottom." The huffy movement meaning came first, possibly from a Scandinavian source.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flounce flounced flouncing

For fall, diaphanous tiers of 1970s flounce in almost angelically light hues defined the show’s aesthetic inside a brutalist warehouse space.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 29, 2024

The pangrams from yesterday’s Spelling Bee were confluence and flounce.

From New York Times ● Aug. 26, 2022

The Hollywood Reporter's Robyn Bahr agreed that "the flounce and fizziness of the original series are largely absent from this moodier and more self-serious one".

From BBC ● Dec. 9, 2021

One morning, their mother asked Nelson to wear her loveliest dress, a dark frock with a flounce at the bottom, and then piled her and Cook into the landlord’s car while he drove.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 2, 2020

She smoothed her long skirt underneath her and sat down with a little flounce like a young girl.

From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep

While she spoke animatedly from a green room couch, Day’s bubblegum pink off-shoulder tee and baggy white pants repeatedly flounced out and then resettled in new shapes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026

The self-confident Mr Lindner overplayed his hand four years ago, and was accused of shirking responsibility when he flounced out of coalition talks.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2021

A few months later, he quietly crawled back to Twitter and starting posting again, never acknowledging that he had flounced away in righteous indignation.

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2021

A West Indian band played in the corner, a young girl flounced around in feather boas, and gay men danced the Madison as they sipped on glasses of wine and longed to touch each other.

From Slate ● May 4, 2018

Then she flounced over to the dog, kissed it with ecstasy and swept into the kitchen, implying that a dozen chefs awaited her orders there.

From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Manuel Puig’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman” is perhaps best known in the U.S. as the film that won William Hurt an Oscar for flouncing around a prison cell in a kimono.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2023

"Rather than flouncing off", said Mr Hussain, the judge showed humour and "embraced" the fluffy intruder.

From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2021

The team are still confident there will be no flouncing.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 10, 2017

Mine were in tatters long before he came flouncing onstage for the last time, having been shredded by the comic banality of most of the material.

From New York Times ● Aug. 9, 2013

There was the teasing and impossible desire to imitate the petty pride of sparrows wallowing and flouncing in the red dust of country roads.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright