swagger

¹swag·ger

verb \ˈswa-gər\

swag·geredswag·ger·ing \-g(ə-)riŋ\

Definition of SWAGGER

intransitive verb

1

: to conduct oneself in an arrogant or superciliously pompous manner; especially : to walk with an air of overbearing self-confidence

2

: boast, brag

transitive verb

: to force by argument or threat : bully

— swag·ger·er \-gər-ər\ noun

— swag·ger·ing·ly \-g(ə-)riŋ-lē\ adverb

Examples of SWAGGER

1. <I, too, would swagger if I'd won first place in the bowling tournament.>
2. <hoping to impress the women at the bar, the young man confidently swaggered across the room>
3. He copped a plea, ratted out a dozen no-neck pals and swaggered off to prison, leaving South Beach temporarily without a pied piper. —Carl Hiaasen, New York Times Book Review, 22 Feb. 2009
4. So it is a fight rather than an argument, really—a fight over complexity versus ease, a fight that mostly mimics gang war, which is not so much a vigorous instance of manly bloodletting (though it is that too) as a dustup over prestige: who has the prior right to swagger in public. —Cynthia Ozick, Harper's, April 2007
5. Sometimes he sauntered through the streets of the old town. He looked with awe at the students of the corps, their cheeks gashed and red, who swaggered about in their coloured caps. —W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage, 1915

Origin of SWAGGER

probably from ¹swag + -er (as in chatter)

First Known Use: circa 1596

Related to SWAGGER

Synonyms

blow, brag, bull [slang], crow, gasconade, boast, vapor, vaunt

Related Words

bluster, harangue, puff; pride; gush; exult, glory, rejoice; brandish, display, exhibit, expose, flaunt, glorify, parade, show off; magnify, maximize

Near Antonyms

belittle, deprecate, diminish, discount, laugh off, minimize, play down, pooh-pooh (also pooh), shrug off, underrate, undervalue; bemoan, lament, mourn, regret

Rhymes with SWAGGER

bagger, bragger, dagger, dragger, gagger, jagger, lagger, nagger, sagger, stagger, wagger

²swag·ger

noun \ˈswa-gər\

Definition of SWAGGER

1

a : an arrogantly self-confident way of walking : an act or instance of swaggering

b : arrogant or conceitedly self-assured behavior

c : ostentatious display or bravado

2

: a self-confident outlook : cockiness

Examples of SWAGGER

1. He has a swagger that annoys some of his teammates.
2. He limps with a noticeable swagger, flamboyantly waving his cane, semi-ironically mimicking the rap stars who are now his peers. —Matt Diehl, Spin, September 2008
3. He greeted me with the swagger he's learned since he became a fighter pilot, smiling, his blue eyes glowing. —Matthew Klam, Harper's, February 1999
4. What a hero Tom was become, now! He did not go skipping and prancing, but moved with a dignified swagger as became a pirate who felt that the public eye was on him. —Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, 1876

Origin of SWAGGER

(see ¹swagger)

First Known Use: 1725

Rhymes with SWAGGER

bagger, gagger, jagger, lagger, nagger, stagger, wagger

³swag·ger

adjective \ˈswa-gər\

Definition of SWAGGER

: marked by elegance or showiness : posh

Origin of SWAGGER

(see ¹swagger)

First Known Use: 1879