jaunty
Americanadjective
-
easy and sprightly in manner or bearing.
to walk with a jaunty step.
-
smartly trim, as clothing.
a jaunty hat.
adjective
-
sprightly, self-confident, and cheerful; brisk
a jaunty step
-
smart; trim
a jaunty hat
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of jaunty
First recorded in 1655–65; earlier jentee, juntee, from French gentil “noble, gentle” ( see genteel), with ending taken as -y 1
Explanation
Jaunty combines ideas such as cheerful, spiffy, upbeat, and natty into one delightfully economical adjective that means all of those things at once! A jaunty hat is one that's stylish and cheerful at the same time, a quality that can be accentuated if the person wears it in a jaunty fashion, perhaps off to the side or over one eye. Playing the part of a jaunty person is easy if you're feeling upbeat and chipper and want the world to know it. Elves are often jaunty in their own way. Sporting their spiffy outfits and featuring that trademark cheerful spring in their step. The fact they always seem so lively and eager to chat only increases the jaunty impression they make. One can't be blamed for wanting to take a jaunt with the jaunty little guys.
Vocabulary lists containing jaunty
The Giver
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Positive Words to Describe a Person
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Tuck Everlasting
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Erling Haaland stood on the pitch in Dallas, a goofy grin across his face and a Viking helmet atop his head at a jaunty angle.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
An hour before the climb, I arrive at the Zimmerman Bandstand, where a troupe wearing Navy whites plays jaunty tunes.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026
A sheet of perforated metal sits at a jaunty angle atop a trio of differently sized pillars, while a T-shaped bar rests above it, defying gravity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
Indeed he was, as evident by the jaunty white beret he’d worn for the occasion, which quickly went viral on social media.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
She examined the photographs on the cover, the young Kenyan woman staring befuddled at the camera, arms enclosing her son, and the young American man, jaunty of manner, holding his daughter to his chest.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Hnath creates his own universe, and the design choices should reflect this wonderland quality to a jauntier degree.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2025
If we felt just a trifle jauntier on Tuesday, we might not have considered citing its dew points.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 20, 2022
Two Cans of Paint is jauntier, the spry finger-picking indicating that this one will be a little more wry.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 4, 2012
His new film, the 12th written by Paul Laverty, has a jauntier tone.
From Time ● May 27, 2012
No jauntier soldier ever trode the plains of Flanders than the brave Ghurkas.
From "The Red Watch" With the First Canadian Division in Flanders by John Allister Currie
That “Going Shopping” is the album’s jauntiest cut — with a music video that restages Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al,” no less — only sharpens the critique.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
The distinct period setting and sleek, angular design of the first “Incredibles,” with its Midcentury Modern home furnishings and retro-futuristic architecture, made it the jauntiest, most American of Pixar masterworks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2018
American insouciance melts Russian sanctimony in Arthur Freed’s 1957 production “Silk Stockings,” the jauntiest of Cold War movies.
From New York Times ● Aug. 19, 2016
On the pitch at least, Euro 2012 has been the jauntiest of tournaments so far and we could be in for a cracker tonight too.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 15, 2012
By no stretch of the imagination could one picture the elder Pendleton in such garb, even in his jauntiest days.
From The Wall Street Girl by George Ellis Wolfe
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
