# flippant

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈflɪp.ənt/ · frequency rank #47,629

## Definitions
1. Showing disrespect through a casual attitude, levity, and a lack of due seriousness; pert.
2. Loquacious; speaking with ease and rapidity.
3. Nimble; limber.

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **flipping** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flippant-vs-flipping)

## Common misspellings (11)
`fflippant`, `filppant`, `flipant`, `flipapnt`, `flippannt`, `flippantt`, `flippatn`, `flippnat`, `fllippant`, `flpipant`, `lfippant`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/flippant