noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation, US:/pəˈnæʃ/
Received-Pronunciation, US:/pəˈnɑːʃ/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australia:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -æʃ
CMU ARPABET:P AH0 N AA1 SH
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
An ornamental plume on a helmet.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: hackle, plume, plumage
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Flamboyance, energetic style or action.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: dash, flamboyance, swagger, verve
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
a feathered plume on a helmet
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: plume
4
noun
Meaning 4
distinctive and stylish elegance
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
he wooed her with the confident dash of a cavalry officer
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: dash, elan, flair, style
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: elegance
History
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French panache, from Middle French pennache (“plume of feathers”), from Italian pennacchio, from Late Latin pinnāculum. Doublet of pinnacle.
Across languages
Translations
41 source translations are retained for this English entry.