sprezzatura
Americannoun
Explanation
Sprezzatura is a kind of studied carelessness or seemingly effortless grace. Someone who always manages to look chic, even in their weekend clean-out-the-garage clothes, displays sprezzatura — they make it look easy to look good. The word sprezzatura is borrowed from Italian, and it dates back to the 1500s, during the Renaissance. It was used to describe a desirable quality amongst the nobles — making difficult things appear easy and acting in a cool, nonchalant manner. Today, the word is often used in the arts, especially in fashion, where it refers to a relaxed but stylish look that seems like you didn't really bother (but you did) — e.g., a partially untucked shirt, a slightly crooked tie, a fancy dress paired with sneakers.
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.
As Greer states in his letter to readers, he intended to write a “charm novel,” and he has succeeded, con sprezzatura.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2026
His high-end, restrained tailoring was attracting mostly European customers who saw it as an Americanized version of sprezzatura, a studied nonchalance.
From Washington Post • Apr. 6, 2020
True genius was defined by a quality of sprezzatura, creating brilliant work without any toil.
From Economist • May 10, 2018
As Jacob Gallagher, men’s fashion editor of The Wall Street Journal, posted on Twitter recently, “Hygge is the wabi-sabi of 2016 which was the sprezzatura of 2015.”
From New York Times • Dec. 24, 2016
No poet has created a world of larger and nobler images, designed with the sprezzatura of indifference to mere gracefulness, but all the more fascinating because of the artist's negligence.
From Sketches and Studies in Italy and Greece, Third series by Symonds, John Addington
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.
