Calling someone debonair is another way of saying they’ve got a certain je ne sais quoi, or to be more specific (and complete the rhyme): savoir faire. Ooh la la! If this all sounds ultra chic to you, you’re not alone. French has a certain cachet, a fanciness and prestige owing in part to its deep etymological, historical, and political connections with English. This extends to many French words that English has borrowed outright or adapted, including debonair. In Anglo-French, someone who was genteel and thought to be well-brought-up was described as deboneire—literally “of good family or nature” (from the three-word phrase de bon aire). When the word was borrowed into English in the 13th century, it basically meant “courteous,” but today’s debonair incorporates suaveness, nonchalance, and maybe even a soupçon of esprit (carefree sophistication with a dash of wit).
Their history, past and recent, may be scribbled with viciousness and deprivation, but the debonair politeness, the good humor, of the Irish I met, who are still among the poorest people in the West, gave me to believe that calamity breeds character.—G. Y. Dryansky, Condé Nast Traveler, November 1994Cary Grant is the center of the action and, at this pivotal point in his career, he is suspended between the heroic and the debonair.—Andrew Sarris, Video Review, September 1990Wyndham Lewis arrived for a stay in Paris and he was a different man from the Lewis of London. He was free and easy and debonair.—Robert McAlmon et al., Being Geniuses Together, (1938) 1968
a debonair man in a suit and top hat
his debonair dismissal of my inquiry concerning his financial situation led me to believe that nothing was wrong
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Refereeing this blood sport is an elite group of auctioneers who make the boring business of settling on a price feel like high drama, and few can rival the panache of Oliver Barker, the debonair 53-year-old principal auctioneer at Sotheby’s.—Chop Choppish Shop, Air Mail, 10 May 2025 The first Monday in May will be 'Superfine' The Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual fashion extravaganza is back Monday, and this time, the event is paying homage to the debonair flair of Black menswear and its evolution over the centuries.—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 6 May 2025 The Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual fashion extravaganza is back, and this time, the event is paying homage to the debonair flair of Black menswear and its evolution over the centuries.—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 3 May 2025 Gabriel Macht completed his three-episode arc on NBC’s Suits LA on Sunday night, returning as Harvey Specter, the debonair longtime friend of the spinoff’s lead character, Ted Black (Stephen Amell).—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 27 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for debonair
Word History
Etymology
Middle English debonere, from Anglo-French deboneire, from de bon aire of good family or nature
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