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You've read about funeral pyres, and you may even have survived a pyromaniac ("insane fire-starting") stage in your youth, so you might have guessed that pyr means "fire" in Greek. Pyrotechnic refers literally to fireworks, but always seems to be used for something else—something just as exciting, explosive, dazzling, sparkling, or brilliant. The performances of sports stars and dancers are often described as pyrotechnic, and a critic may describe the pyrotechnics of a rock guitarist's licks or a film's camerawork. A pyrotechnic performance is always impressive, but the word occasionally suggests something more like "flashy" or "flamboyant".
Examples of pyrotechnic in a Sentence
Brandon Downs, CBS News, 26 Mar. 2026
In the early 2010s, Wijk and Crispin took to YouTube, where post-festival EDM compilations were beginning to take off thanks to the pyrotechnic montages being shared by events like Tomorrowland.
—Sam Davies, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2026
Bydoug Ashburn, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
What no one knows Lurking behind the complex legal pyrotechnics, Billy Hursh and his family wait for news.
—J.c. Hallman, Oklahoma Watch, 31 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pyrotechnic
Cite this Entry
“Pyrotechnic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pyrotechnic. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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