flippant

Definition

Showing disrespect through a casual attitude, levity, and a lack of due seriousness; pert.

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.

Example Sentences

• "a sort of flippant, vain discourse"
• "The conversations had grown more adult over the years—she was less flippant, at least."
• "In the mid-1950s we both wrote for the same weekly, where her contributions were a good deal more serious and less flippant than mine."

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