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flak

 
also flack (flăk) pronunciation
n.
    1. Antiaircraft artillery.
    2. The bursting shells fired from such artillery.
  1. Informal.
    1. Excessive or abusive criticism.
    2. Dissension; opposition.

[German, from Fl(ieger)a(bwehr)k(anone), aircraft-defense gun.]


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n

Definition: complaint, criticism
Antonyms: compliment, praise

Antiaircraft fire.

Etymology: a contraction of the German fliegerabwehrkanone.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

Word Tutor:

flak

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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: n. - Artillery designed to shoot upward at airplanes; Intense adverse criticism; A slick spokesperson who can turn any criticism to the advantage of their employer.

Tutor's tip: She said she'd rather catch "flak" (censure) as a "flack" (a press agent) in the newsroom than be known as a "flake." (eccentric person)

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

The fire from anti-aircraft artillery that appears as small puffs in the sky. These puffs are generated when shells of air defense guns self-destruct at the end of stipulated period of flight after failing to impact the enemy aircraft.

Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'flak'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to flak, see:

  See crossword solutions for the clue Flak.
Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Flak (multiple meanings)

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Flak refers to anti-aircraft gunfire, derived during World War II from the German Flugabwehrkanone, for "aircraft defence cannon".

Flak may also refer to:

  • Flak (or Flack), an informal term for a media relations representative
  • Flak (Transformers), a fictional character
  • Flak jacket, protective clothing worn by soldiers and others to protect themselves from debris and shrapnel
  • Intense criticism, a metaphor derived from intense anti-aircraft gunfire; e.g. "I'll have to take the flak for my department's mistakes."
  • "Flak", a class of the Propaganda model advanced by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky
  • "Flat land" or "flat sandbank", as a component of Germanic language area place names, e.g. Flakfortet
  • Flak Magazine, an American online magazine, founded in 1998
  • Flak, an 8-bit computer game published in 1984 by Funsoft
  • Flak, a UK band whose music has featured in Malcolm in the Middle TV series
  • Flak, a fictional commanding officer in the Advance Wars video games
  • F.L.A.K., a fictional weapon in the G.I. Joe universe

See also

  • FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec), an audio data compression scheme

Translations:

Flak

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - luftværnsild, sprængstykker, kritik, flak

idioms:

  • flak jacket    skudsikker vest

Nederlands (Dutch)
(ammunitie voor) luchtafweergeschut, kritiek

Français (French)
n. - critique, batteries antiaériennes, (fig) critiques

idioms:

  • flak jacket    gilet pare-balles

Deutsch (German)
n. - (Mil.) Flakfeuer, Flak

idioms:

  • flak jacket    kugelsichere Weste

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (στρατ.) αντιαεροπορικό πυροβολικό, αντιαεροπορικά πυρά, (καθομ.) παράπονα ή επικρίσεις

idioms:

  • flak jacket    (καθομ.) αλεξίσφαιρο γιλέκο

Italiano (Italian)
opposizione

idioms:

  • flak jacket    giubbetto antiproiettile

Português (Portuguese)
n. - fogo (m) antiaéreo, crítica (f) severa

idioms:

  • flak jacket    colete (m) a prova de balas

Русский (Russian)
зенитный огонь, подвергнуться острой критике

idioms:

  • flak jacket    бронежилет

Español (Spanish)
n. - crítica, fuego antiaéreo

idioms:

  • flak jacket    chaqueta protectora y de camuflaje

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - luftvärn, hård kritik (vard.)

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
高射炮, 宣传, 对空炮火广告

idioms:

  • flak jacket    防弹衣

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 高射炮, 宣傳, 對空炮火廣告

idioms:

  • flak jacket    防彈衣

한국어 (Korean)
n. - (군대) 대공포화 , 비난, 공격

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 高射砲, 対空射撃, 非難攻撃

idioms:

  • flak jacket    防弾チョッキ, 防弾服

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مدفعيه مضادة للطائرات‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אש נגד-מטוסים, ביקורת שלילית‬


 
 
Related topics:
flak jacket
Flaker (family name)
flak analysis (ordnance)

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