flippant

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English

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Etymology

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1595, from Northern English dialectal flippand (prattling, babbling, glib), present participle of flip (to babble), of North Germanic origin. Cognate with Icelandic fleipa (to babble, prattle), Swedish dialectal flepa (to talk nonsense). Alteration of -and suffix (a variant of the participial -ing) to -ant probably due to influence from words in -ant.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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flippant (comparative more flippant, superlative most flippant)

  1. Showing disrespect through a casual attitude, levity, and a lack of due seriousness; pert.
  2. (archaic) Loquacious; speaking with ease and rapidity.
    • November 5, 1673, Isaac Barrow, sermon on the Gunpowder Treason
      It becometh good men, in such cases, to be pleasantly flippant and free in their speech.
  3. (chiefly dialectal) Nimble; limber.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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Further reading

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French

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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flippant (feminine flippante, masculine plural flippants, feminine plural flippantes)

  1. (Europe, informal) Surprising
  2. (Europe, informal) Worrying; scary

Participle

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flippant

  1. present participle of flipper

Further reading

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