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.
In 1964 Frank Sinatra recorded his jaunty love song “Fly Me to the Moon.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026
Although there is scarcely a reader of history unaware of the widely rumored affair between Edwina Mountbatten—the viceroy’s wife—and Jawaharlal Nehru, that most worldly of Indian anti-imperialists, Mr. Dalrymple repackages it with jaunty mischief.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026
The pop star achieved the feat with her single XMAS, an irrepressibly jaunty anthem about "the presents underneath the tree" and kissing someone special "out in the snow".
From BBC • Dec. 19, 2025
These videos are balm and inspiration for our dark times and they’re even better with a soundtrack — I’ve seen people remix them with jaunty Mexican banda classics such as “La Chona” or “El Sinaloense.”
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 8, 2025
The grandstands at the finish line slowly filled with people fanning themselves with their programs—men in fedoras and Panama hats, women in flat-brimmed hats perched on their heads at jaunty angles.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
