flippant

adjective

ˈfli-pənt How to pronounce flippant (audio)
Definition of flippantnext
as in cute
making light of something usually regarded as serious or sacred his flippant comment that the poor save on taxes offended many people

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of flippant Diet culture doesn’t care about your health The flippant comments about this parasite belie the dominant belief that weight loss is inherently about pursuing health. — Oona Hanson, CNN Money, 25 July 2026 And for Lestat’s part, Louis has been flippant with his feelings. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 15 July 2026 Your method of dismissing your flippant remarks, then, is probably the next best option to silence. — R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2026 Chick lit was flippant and fizzy and fun, above all, as effervescent and guiltless as a vodka soda. — Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 4 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for flippant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flippant
  1. cute
  2. facetious
  3. playful
  4. inappropriate
  5. wise
Adjective
  • Henry makes a cute joke about Arch’s wife; Arch weeps due to the hardships of war.
    — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Someone tells you that the rats are actually cute, what’s your honest response?
    — Zach Schiffman, Curbed, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of cute
Adjective
  • The excess of emotion often scans as winkingly facetious, a dramatization to demonstrate just how deeply a person loves books.
    — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 8 July 2026
  • The first thing he was asked, by another reporter who witnessed the debate, was a facetious question of whether he’s given MVP any thought.
    — Jared Weiss, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2026
Definition of facetious
Adjective
  • In the Re/Icons clip, Cher tugs at the scarf in a playful reference to the show.
    — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
  • In their quiet, playful way, quaking bogs connect us, breaking through age and experience with the simple wonder of motion.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of playful
Adjective
  • Parental Controls for Shared Devices Parents can restrict access to adult and inappropriate content, which helps when kids use the same phones, tablets, or laptops.
    — StackCommerce Team, PC Magazine, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Val Chmerkovskiy has been suspended from Dancing with the Stars for one week after making an inappropriate comment toward one of the judges last week.
    — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of inappropriate
Adjective
  • Maybe there’s an equilibrium that must be restored on this show, relationship-wise.
    — Tom Smyth, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Anthropic updates its policies to bar users being cruel to Claude, inflaming a debate about whether the company’s concern for ‘model welfare’ is wise.
    — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of wise

Browse Nearby Words

flippancy
flippant
flipped
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Flippant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flippant. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of jilt

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All