Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Puffed-out; full.
  • noun A full, puffed-out hairstyle.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Puffed out: as, a skirt very bouffant at the back.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective being puffed out; -- used mostly of hair style, and sometimes clothing; ; a bouffant skirt.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Of hair or clothing, full-bodied or puffy; puffed out away from head or body.
  • noun A popular hairstyle in the mid-to-late 16th century, nowadays common with poodles.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a woman's hairstyle in which the hair gives a puffy appearance
  • adjective being puffed out; used of hair style or clothing

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from present participle of bouffer, to puff up, from Old French.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

French, from Middle French; present participle of bouffer, to puff

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Examples

  • Impulsive show in bouffant rouched outfit with super soft volume.

    The Lucky Rocking Chair from Brühl 2009

  • What is wrong with this man that he can't keep up with people like Ron Paul, who is a year older than him and light-years away from mainstream Republican philosophy, or Chris Dodd, who has yet to break 1 percent in any Democratic primary poll except in his own state of Connecticut, where the last public poll gave him 6 percent (for Dodd, I blame this on the bouffant, which is the wrong color and shape, although the texture is appropriately sticky -- a fly was recently trapped on its surface).

    Paul Jenkins: McCain: Broke-Ass Senator 2008

  • Karl Lagerfeld, whose muse for Chanel Couture must be equal parts geisha, schoolgirl and American housewife circa late '50s/early' 60s, placed sugary sweet bows in each girls 'bouffant' do.

    Luxist 2010

  • And in 1950 one East German culture official, Kurt Hager, saw the ultimate symbol of American conquest in the bouffant, “rockabilly” hairstyle of East German youth who emulated Hollywood movie stars: “The hair is styled in such a manner that it rises from the base of the neck like the mushroom cloud of an atomic bomb.”

    A Renegade History of the United States Thaddeus Russell 2010

  • Stiliagi, or “style hunters,” appeared on the streets of all the major cities in the Soviet bloc, wearing zoot suits and ducktails if they were male or tight dresses—“stretched tightly over their figures to the point of indecency,” according to one state-run Soviet newspaper—and bouffant hairdos if they were female.

    A Renegade History of the United States Thaddeus Russell 2010

  • Huw has a dark, military type bouffant, clearly going for the Cameron look, which won't go down well with the core Labour supporter methinks.

    And the next First Minister is... 2009

  • GoAnimate lets users customize their characters with features like a pot belly, cat-eye glasses, a bouffant hairdo or gorilla hands.

    Animation Nation Ellen Gamerman 2011

  • The blue bouffant takes on a more "mature" hue — which may not be the best timing, because Homer has suddenly and unexpectedly become a chick magnet while acting as a despondent Moe's wingman.

    Matt's Weekend Picks: February 11-13 2011

  • Cheryl's giant bouffant – acquired somewhere on the 42nd parallel during the flight over – now looks like a classic reverse Samson.

    Cheryl Cole's loss could be the US X Factor's gain 2011

  • AFP/Getty Images Models wore gray bouffant hair dos -- signaling a notion of a middle-aged Jean Paul Gaultier woman.

    Jean Paul Gaultier's Stylish Striptease 2011

Comments

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  • Goes great with "bulbous"

    December 3, 2006