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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
Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 4 Nov. 2024
At least two people reported injuries from the falling rocks, which turned out to be clay fireworks caps sent skyward during the detonation of 50,000 pyrotechnic devices.
—Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2024
Brittany Anas, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
Tarsem was warned not to set off any pyrotechnics because they might be perceived as bombs by one of the countries.
—Leila Jordan, IndieWire, 14 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pyrotechnic 
Dictionary Entries Near pyrotechnic
Cite this Entry
“Pyrotechnic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pyrotechnic. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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