How do you pronounce bouffant?

The recorded pronunciation is /buˈfɑːnt/.

bouffant

/buˈfɑːnt/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.82 in modern English

Syllables: bouf-fant
IPA: /buˈfɑːnt/

Scrabble Score

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Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of hair or clothing, full-bodied or puffy; puffed out away from head or body.

noun

A puffy, round hairstyle, popular in the mid-to-late 16th century, characterized by hair raised high on the head and usually covering the ears or hanging down on the sides.

Example Sentences

"Her bouffant suit made her seem much heavier than her petite figure actually was."
"Mother went a little pale. “Preposterous!” she said. “I don’t know what’s got into you!” She fiddled with her bouffant, almost as if she was nervous."
"But by the early 1980s the energy had largely drained from the punk movement, giving way to the synthesizers, eyeliner and bouffants of so-called New Romantic bands like Duran Duran and Adam and the Ants."

Etymology

From French bouffant, from Middle French; present participle of bouffer (“to puff”). Doublet of buffont.

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: bouffant

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /buˈfɑːnt/
British English: /ˈbuːfɑ̃/

Inflected Forms

more bouffant (comparative) most bouffant (superlative) bouffants (plural)

Derived Forms

bouffanty buffant buffont semibouffant

Phrases

bouffant cap bouffant gown

Synonyms

puffy

Rhymes With

want wont font entente fondant quant wan't fount bon vivant poitou-charentes ront