What does flagrantly mean?
Flagrantly is an adverb meaning in an openly, glaringly, and shamelessly offensive manner. It describes actions that not only break rules, laws, or moral conventions but do so conspicuously, without any effort to hide the transgression. A company might act flagrantly in ignoring safety regulations, or a government might flagrantly violate a treaty; in each case the word stresses both the seriousness of the offence and the offender's brazen indifference to being seen. The term derives from Latin flagrare, 'to burn', via flagrans and the adjective flagrant, so its figurative logic is that of something blazing so brightly it cannot be missed. Strongly pejorative and most common in legal, journalistic, and critical writing, flagrantly is a precise tool for condemning conduct that flouts accepted standards in plain view.
adverbIn a blatantly open, shameless, or conspicuous manner; so obviously or scandalously that it cannot be overlooked. Flagrantly typically describes behaviour that offends accepted standards without any attempt at concealment.
- In an openly, glaringly, and shamelessly offensive manner — describing conduct that flouts rules, laws, or moral norms without attempt at concealment.
"The company flagrantly ignored the safety regulations, risking its workers' lives for profit."
"The referee's error was flagrantly one-sided, and the crowd let him hear about it."
"He continued to drive with a suspended licence, flagrantly defying the court's order."
Flagrantly and fragrantly are separated by one letter — one means 'smelling sweet', the other means 'stinking of shamelessness'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of flagrantly
Flagrantly comes from the adjective flagrant, taken in the late 18th century from Latin flagrans, the present participle of flagrare, 'to burn or blaze'. In post-classical Latin, flagrans came to be used figuratively of offences 'glowing' with guilt — still red-hot from the crime, as in the old legal phrase in flagrante delicto, 'while the crime is blazing'. English adopted flagrant to mean both 'burning' and, more durably, 'notorious and glaringly culpable', and flagrantly arose as its adverbial form. Cognates from the same Latin root include conflagration and inflammable, all preserving the sense of fire.
Related word forms
How flagrantly is actually used
Flagrantly is almost always pejorative and carries strong connotations of shamelessness rather than mere visibility; it is most at home in legal, journalistic, and critical registers when condemning violations of rules or morality. It intensifies the adjective flagrant in the same way other -ly adverbs modify their base forms.
Easily confused with flagrantly
Fragrantly means with a pleasant sweet smell (from Latin fragrare), while flagrantly means openly and shamelessly — the two differ by a single letter and are occasionally confused in fast reading.