See Also: flippant(dictionary)
flippant(dictionary)

flippant (iou)



flippant adjective & noun. E17.
[from FLIP verb + -ANT1, perh. in imitation of heraldic adjectives, as couchant, trippant.]
A. adjective.
Nimble; pliant. obsolete exc. dial. E17.
Talkative, voluble, fluent. E17-L18.
Sportive, playful. Only in 18.
Lacking in seriousness; treating serious matters lightly; disrespectful. E18.
E. M. Forster I should never have talked in this flippant, superficial way. G. A. Birmingham He resents the flippant mirth of those whom he regards as his inferiors.
b. absol. as noun. A flippant person. Now rare. L18.
W. Cowper The flippant and the scold.
flippantly adverb M18.
flippantness noun E18.