flagrant

"Flagrant" is a strong adjective with essentially one core meaning, but it's worth exploring how it's used across different contexts. It describes something bad that is done openly and shamelessly — so obvious that it's almost shocking. You'll most often see it paired with words like "violation", "foul", or "disregard".

1adjectiveshockingly obvious wrongdoing

When something bad — a mistake, a lie, a rule-break — is so clear and open that everyone can see it, and the person doing it doesn't even try to hide it, you call it flagrant. Think of it as the opposite of subtle. It's not just wrong; it's boldly, embarrassingly wrong.

everyday language, law, sports · Modern, widely used — especially in formal writing and news

The referee called a flagrant foul after the player deliberately hit his opponent.

Copying someone else's work word for word is a flagrant act of plagiarism.

The company showed a flagrant disregard for safety rules, putting workers at risk.

2adjectivefigurativefigurative emphasis on brazenness

Sometimes people use 'flagrant' in a slightly more dramatic or figurative way to emphasize that someone is being completely shameless — not just wrong, but almost arrogantly so. It adds a tone of outrage or disbelief to the sentence.

everyday language, journalism · Modern, common in opinion writing and commentary · figurative

That was a flagrant lie — he knew exactly what had happened.

She walked into the meeting late with a flagrant lack of apology.