debonair

or deb·o·naire, deb·on·naire

[ deb-uh-nair ]

/ ˌdɛb əˈnɛər /

adjective

courteous, gracious, and having a sophisticated charm: a debonair gentleman.

jaunty; carefree; sprightly.

Words nearby debonair

debit, debit card, debit policy, debitage, debitor, debonair, debone, deborah, deboss, debouch, debouchment

Origin of debonair

1175–1225; Middle English debone(i)re < Anglo-French; Old French debonaire, orig. phrase de bon aire of good lineage

SYNONYMS FOR debonair

1 urbane, suave, elegant, polished.

OTHER WORDS FROM debonair

deb·o·nair·ly, adverbdeb·o·nair·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for debonnaire

Yet what a change they make in the beautiful, debonnaire countenance!
Molly Bawn|Margaret Wolfe Hamilton
Ferdinand the debonnaire, the well-loved, the generator of heirs.
The Mystery of the Lost Dauphin|Emilia Pardo Bazn
Handsome, dashing, debonnaire, he approaches a field of battle as a light-hearted schoolboy approaches a football field.
The Great Boer War|Arthur Conan Doyle
But the aspects of the wearers of warlike accoutrements are debonnaire and smiling, as of revellers on a holiday of peace.
The Parisians, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Yet here she was, debonnaire and fresh and perfectly appointed—and ah, so terribly neat and spectacularly finessed!
You Never Know Your Luck, Complete|Gilbert Parker

British Dictionary definitions for debonnaire

debonair

debonnaire

/ (ˌdɛbəˈnɛə) /

adjective (esp of a man or his manner)

suave and refined

carefree; light-hearted

courteous and cheerful; affable

Derived forms of debonair

debonairly, adverbdebonairness, noun

Word Origin for debonair

C13: from Old French debonaire, from de bon aire having a good disposition

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012