Illustration of panache
- panache 1
1
: an ornamental tuft (as of feathers) especially on a helmet
The palace guard had a panache on his helmet.
2
: dash or flamboyance in style and action : verve
… flashed his … smile and waved with the panache of a big-city mayor.—
Joe Morgenstern
Joe Morgenstern
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Few literary characters can match the panache of French poet and soldier Cyrano de Bergerac, from Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play of the same name. In his dying moments, Cyrano declares that the one thing left to him is his panache, and that assertion at once demonstrates the meaning of the word and draws upon its history. In both French and English, panache (which traces back to Late Latin pinnaculum, “small wing”) originally referred to a showy, feathery plume on a hat or helmet; our familiar figurative sense debuted in the first English translation of Rostand’s play, which made the literal plume a metaphor for Cyrano’s unflagging verve even in death. In a 1903 speech Rostand himself described panache: “A little frivolous perhaps, most certainly a little theatrical, panache is nothing but a grace which is so difficult to retain in the face of death, a grace which demands so much strength that, all the same, it is a grace … which I wish for all of us.”
Examples of panache in a Sentence
She played the role of hostess with great panache.
Recent Examples on the Web
Siegal took on the challenge with her usual panache.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 10 Feb. 2026
But the images from his studio—their panache and sensuality, the rich density of their optical terrains—have made Keïta a lodestar of West Africa’s twentieth-century photography.
—Zoë Hopkins, New Yorker, 7 Feb. 2026
The team’s primary third baseman for the past few seasons brought a panache with her style of play that helped make her the Longhorns’ all-time leader in runs.
—Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 6 Feb. 2026
There’s a lot that’s familiar in this version, but enough variety, panache and bravado to raise it up a notch and give it, well, a raison d’être.
—Jocelyn Noveck, Boston Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
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Brent Lang, Variety, 10 Feb. 2026
But the images from his studio—their panache and sensuality, the rich density of their optical terrains—have made Keïta a lodestar of West Africa’s twentieth-century photography.
—Zoë Hopkins, New Yorker, 7 Feb. 2026
The team’s primary third baseman for the past few seasons brought a panache with her style of play that helped make her the Longhorns’ all-time leader in runs.
—Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 6 Feb. 2026
There’s a lot that’s familiar in this version, but enough variety, panache and bravado to raise it up a notch and give it, well, a raison d’être.
—Jocelyn Noveck, Boston Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for panache
Cite this Entry
“Panache.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/panache. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
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