debonair

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English debone(i)re, from Anglo-French; Old French debonaire; the original phrase was de bon aire “of good lineage”

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. 2022

How to use debonair in a sentence

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
He had never seen her so radiantly debonnaire; yet her heart was full of annoying anxiety.
When Valmond Came to Pontiac, Complete|Gilbert Parker
He seemed to be riding through life for a fall, and rode with his chin up, gay and debonnaire.
The Isle of Unrest|Henry Seton Merriman
Then came bellows organs, first used by Louis le Debonnaire.
Passages From The American Notebooks, Volume 1|Nathaniel Hawthorne

I was aghast at the freedom of treasonable speech with which this very debonnaire gentleman ventured to address an utter stranger.
Bardelys the Magnificent|Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for debonair

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

debonair

OTHER WORDS FOR debonair

Origin of debonair

OTHER WORDS FROM debonair

Words related to debonair

How to use debonair in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for debonair

debonnaire

Derived forms of debonair

Word Origin for debonair