blatant

(blāt'nt)
adj.

1. Unpleasantly loud and noisy: "There are those who find the trombones blatant and the triangle silly, but both add effective color" (Musical Heritage Review). See synonyms at vociferous.
2. Usage Problem. Totally or offensively conspicuous or obtrusive: a blatant lie.

[From Latin blatīre, to blab (on the model of words such as RAMPANT).]

blatancy bla'tan·cy n.
blatantly bla'tant·ly adv.

USAGE NOTE   It is not surprising that blatant and flagrant are often confused, since the words have overlapping meanings. Both attribute conspicuousness and offensiveness to certain acts. Blatant emphasizes the failure to conceal the act. Flagrant, on the other hand, emphasizes the serious wrongdoing inherent in the offense. Certain contexts may admit either word depending on what is meant: a violation of human rights might be either blatant or flagrant. If it was committed with contempt for public scrutiny, it is blatant. If its barbarity was monstrous, it is flagrant. • Blatant is sometimes used to mean simply "obvious," as in the blatant danger of such an approach, but this use has not been established and is widely considered an error.

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1. Blatant was, invented late in the 16th century by the poet Spenser as an epithet of a thousand-tongued monster in The Faerie Queene. It now means 'glaringly conspicuous', and overlaps in meaning with flagrant but has rather less of flagrant's implications of offensiveness: It was a blatant lie means that the lie was obvious; It was a flagrant lie means that (when discovered) it was outrageous. Blatant typically modifies words such as attempt, discrimination, disregard, disrespect, hypocrisy, intrigue, lie, mischief, racism, rip-off, and violation; flagrant also modifies disregard and violation, as well as abuse, breach, denial, dishonesty, example, foul, impropriety, incompetence, and violator.

2. The adverbial form blatantly (unlike flagrantly) has developed a weakened meaning, especially in youth slang, as a stock form of intensifier like absolutely and extremely.

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adjective

1. Offensively loud and insistent: boisterous, clamorous, obstreperous, strident, vociferous. Informal loudmouthed. See sounds/pleasant sounds/unpleasant sounds/neutral sounds or silence.
2. Characterized by or done without shame: bald-faced, barefaced, brazen, brazenfaced, shameless, unabashed, unblushing. Informal brassy. See courtesy/discourtesy, respect/contempt/standing, right/wrong.

adj

Definition: deafening
Antonyms: quiet, silent

adj

Definition: obvious; brazen
Antonyms: inconspicuous, quiet, subtle, unpronounced

IN BRIEF: Noisy and obvious. In a rude manner.

It was definitely a blatant lie.

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For a list of words related to blatant, see:

• Extroverted, Outgoing, Outspoken, or Dramatic

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See words rhyming with "blatancy."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Blatant.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - skamløs, vulgær

Nederlands (Dutch)
luidruchtig, flagrant, schreeuwend, overduidelijk

Français (French)
adj. - criant, flagrant, éhonté, fieffé

Deutsch (German)
adj. - lärmend, unübersehbar

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - οφθαλμοφανής, κατάφωρος, σκανδαλώδης, προκλητικός

Italiano (Italian)
assordante, strepitoso, evidente

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - espalhafatoso, óbvio

Русский (Russian)
крикливый, вопиющий

Español (Spanish)
adj. - estridente, evidente, patente

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - skränig, skrikig, bullersam

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
喧嚣的, 俗丽的, 吵闹的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 喧囂的, 俗麗的, 吵鬧的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 뻔뻔스러운, 시끄러운, 야한

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 騒々しい, あくどい, けばけばしい

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) مفضوح, واضح, صريح‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮בוטה, קולני, גס, חסר-בושה‬

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