Flamboyance
collective noun /flæmˈbɔɪəns/ — What you call a group of flamingos — the English language at its most accurate.
Definition
The collective noun for a group of flamingos — one of the most celebrated collective nouns in English for the sheer accuracy of its spirit.
Beyond the definition
Whoever named this was paying attention. Flamingos are pink, they stand on one leg, they move in synchronized waves of colour — a flamboyance is exactly what they are. This is one of those rare collective nouns that feels less invented than discovered.
Origin & history
From French flamboyant — flaming, blazing (flambe 'flame'). Originally an architectural term for ornate Gothic style. Applied to flamingos because of their vivid colour and theatrical bearing.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
A flamboyance of flamingos turned the salt flat pink at dusk.
The wildlife photographer had waited three hours for the flamboyance to arrive.
Nothing prepares you for your first flamboyance — that much living colour moving as one.
Synonyms
group, flock, colony, stand
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Word in focus
A flamboyance of flamingos
A large flock of pink flamingos wading together in a wetland.
Here, “flamboyance” names the whole gathering. Notice the animals together rather than looking for one individual with that name. The photograph illustrates the group; it is not evidence that this particular scene inspired the expression.
Image credit: Ramazancirakoglu · CC BY-SA 4.0 (license)
Resized and converted to WebP; displayed with a fitted crop.