Flippant
adj
adj ·2 syllables ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Showing disrespect through a casual attitude, levity, and a lack of due seriousness; pert.
"a sort of flippant, vain discourse"
- 2 Loquacious; speaking with ease and rapidity. archaic
"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 Nimble; limber. dialectal
Adjective
- 1 showing inappropriate levity wordnet
Example
More examples"Her flippant attitude won't get her hired."
Etymology
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.