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Showing results for bouffant. Search instead for bouffancy.
Synonyms

bouffant

American  
[boo-fahnt, boo-fahnt, boo-fahn] / buˈfɑnt, ˈbu fɑnt, buˈfɑ̃ /

adjective

  1. puffed out; full.

    a bouffant skirt.

noun

  1. a woman's hairstyle in which the hair is teased to give an overall puffed-out appearance and often combed to frame the face.

bouffant British  
/ ˈbuːfɒŋ /

adjective

  1. (of a hair style) having extra height and width through back-combing; puffed out

  2. (of sleeves, skirts, etc) puffed out

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a bouffant hair style

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • bouffancy noun
  • semibouffant adjective

Etymology

Origin of bouffant

First recorded in 1875–80; from French: literally, “swelling” ( bouff(er) “to swell” + -ant adjective suffix; see -ant)

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

James Whale’s 1935 freakquel, “Bride of Frankenstein,” imagined the companion briefly alive, sporting a white-streaked, electric-shocked bouffant before being killed by the Monster moments after her genesis.

From Salon • Mar. 8, 2026

This year, the Dominican rapper supported her friend by walking the runway in a retro bouffant and black funeral dress.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 7, 2025

In one such instance, the official “Barbie” movie account responded to a fan-made image depicting Barbie with an atom bomb bouffant with the comment, “This Ken is a stylist.”

From New York Times • Aug. 1, 2023

His bushy moustache and black bouffant hair with a trademark white streak at the front made him one of the most recognisable - and impersonated - stars of the era on ITV.

From BBC • Feb. 19, 2023

“Marcia, are you going to bottle your secret?” a woman whom Ifemelu did not know asked, her bleached hair bouffant like a platinum helmet.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.