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blatancy

 - 3 dictionary results

bla⋅tant

[bleyt-nt]
–adjective
1. brazenly obvious; flagrant: a blatant error in simple addition; a blatant lie.
2. offensively noisy or loud; clamorous: blatant radios.
3. tastelessly conspicuous: the blatant colors of the dress.

Origin:
coined by Spenser in 1596; cf. L blatīre to babble, prate, blaterāre to talk foolishly, babble


bla⋅tan⋅cy, noun
bla⋅tant⋅ly, adverb


1. unmistakable, overt, undeniable, obtrusive.


1. subtle, hidden, inconspicuous.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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bla·tant   (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).]
bla'tan·cy n., 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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

blatant 
1596, in blatant beast, coined by Edmund Spenser in "The Faerie Queen" to describe a thousand-tongued monster representing slander, probably from L. blatire "to babble." It entered general use 1656, as "noisy in an offensive and vulgar way;" the sense of "obvious, glaringly conspicuous" is from 1889.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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