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:
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
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
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
His book, flowing with jaunty charm, is Milne-centered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
“Yes,” she said, “those hymns about eternal lakes of fire; are always so jaunty, aren’t they? Play another.”
From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt
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
Listen to the way he slips subtly from the work’s grim opening to the jauntier, waltzing second section.
From New York Times ● Sep. 8, 2017
It may reenact a true story with gasp-inducing digital verisimilitude, but “The Walk” still seems like a fantasy — a throwback to an upbeat, jauntier age of filmmaking.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 8, 2015
His new film, the 12th written by Paul Laverty, has a jauntier tone.
From Time ● May 27, 2012
"Let me tell you," he went on, "that my name in religion is Palamone— Fra Palamone"—here his tones became lighter, as he soared from the injured benefactor's into a jauntier suit.
From The Fool Errant Being the Memoirs of Francis-Anthony Strelley, Esq., Citizen of Lucca by Maurice Henry Hewlett
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
He came on with a drink for the batsmen, and starting signalling an overturned review to the England fielders, all the while wearing the jauntiest of smiles.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 3, 2015
"Corbin?" repeated the Colonel in his jauntiest manner.
From Colonel Starbottle's Client by Bret Harte
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.
