flagrant
adjective
Did you know?
In Latin, flagrare means "to burn," and flagrans means "burning" or "fiery hot" (both literally and figuratively). When it was first used in the 16th century, flagrant had the same meaning as flagrans, but by the 18th century it had acquired its current meaning of "conspicuously bad." Some usage commentators warn against using flagrant and blatant interchangeably. While both words denote conspicuousness, they are not exact synonyms. Blatant is usually used of some person, action, or thing that attracts disapproving attention (e.g., "a blatant grammatical error"). Flagrant is used similarly, but usually carries a heavier weight of violated morality (e.g., "flagrant abuse of public office").
Synonyms
- blatant
- conspicuous
- egregious
- glaring
- gross
- obvious
- patent
- pronounced
- rank
- striking
Example Sentences
Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 23 May 2022 After cutting Miami’s lead to 103-97, Smart fouled out and received a technical foul, turning his sixth foul into a 3-point play, and Grant Williams was assessed a flagrant foul 1 with 24.7 seconds left and the Celtics trailing 106-100. Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY, 22 May 2022 Game 1 had a little bit of everything, including a critical ejection of the Warriors' Draymond Green on a flagrant foul late the first half. Mark Faller, The Arizona Republic, 17 May 2022 The Warriors forward was called for a flagrant 2 foul, which is an automatic ejection from the game. Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 1 May 2022 Finally, consider critical race theory, or CRT, a particularly flagrant example of the Fox News fallacy. Ruy Teixeira, National Review, 31 Mar. 2022 In the most flagrant example of historic revisionism, some Republican lawmakers are now actively denying the heroism of officers who defended them from the insurrectionists on Capitol Hill. Stephen Collinson, CNN, 18 June 2021 The 2015 bid for Micron set off alarm bells in Washington, where the move was seen as a flagrant example of Chinese companies using state financing to buy sensitive technologies wholesale. New York Times, 19 July 2021 As a result, thousands of churches have been built without official authorization, often in flagrant violation of basic fire-safety standards. Liam Stack, BostonGlobe.com, 14 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
Latin flagrant-, flagrans, present participle of flagrare to burn — more at black entry 1
1513, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Kids Definition
flagrant
adjective
flagrant
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- blatant
- glaring
- obvious
- gross
- egregious
- conspicuous
- patent
- striking
- pronounced
- sheer
- noticeable
- distinct
- terrible
- outstanding
- rank
- marked
- clear
- notable
- dramatic
- evident
- utter
- prominent
- remarkable
- outright
- showy
- downright
- emphatic
- salient
- monstrous
- plain
- arrant
- arresting
- heinous
- shameful
- absolute
- shocking
- visible
- outrageous
- detectable
- discernible
- abominable
- stark
- out-and-out
- perceptible
- deplorable
- observable
- splashy
- eye-catching
- atrocious
- awful
- preposterous
- discernable
- execrable
- lousy
- wretched
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- trifling
- inconspicuous
- slight
- imperceptible
- trivial
- unobtrusive
- small
- insignificant
- inconsiderable
- inconsequential
- unnoticeable
- invisible
- hidden
- concealed
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of flagrant are glaring, gross, and rank. While all these words mean "conspicuously bad or objectionable," flagrant applies usually to offenses or errors so bad that they can neither escape notice nor be condoned.
The synonyms glaring and flagrant are sometimes interchangeable, but glaring implies painful or damaging obtrusiveness of something that is conspicuously wrong, faulty, or improper.
The words gross and flagrant can be used in similar contexts, but gross implies the exceeding of reasonable or excusable limits.
The words rank and flagrant are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, rank applies to what is openly and extremely objectionable and utterly condemned.