swagger

[swag-er]

verb (used without object)

1. to walk or strut with a defiant or insolent air.

2. to boast or brag noisily.

verb (used with object)

1. to bring, drive, force, etc., by blustering.

noun

1. swaggering manner, conduct, or walk; ostentatious display of arrogance and conceit.

swagger

¹

/ ˈswæɡə /

verb

1. (intr) to walk or behave in an arrogant manner

2. to brag loudly

3. rare,  (tr) to force, influence, etc, by blustering

noun

1. arrogant gait, conduct, or manner

adjective

1. informal,  elegantly fashionable

swagger

²

/ ˈswæɡə, ˈswæɡɪ /

noun

1. other names for swagman

Other Word Forms

• swaggering adjective
• swaggerer noun
• swaggeringly adverb
• outswagger verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of swagger¹

First recorded in 1580–90; swag ¹ + -er ⁶

Word History and Origins

Origin of swagger¹

C16: probably from _swag

Synonym Study

See strut ¹.

Example Sentences

“It was swagger like the biggest, baddest military movie you ever saw,” said Woolf, 35, senior pastor at Lake Street Church of Evanston.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

England's swaggering performance, which followed a 5-0 demolition of Serbia in a crucial World Cup qualifier in September, was a promising sign as they gear up for next year's World Cup.

Read more on Barron's

Still, I worried about the optics of swaggering around, brandishing a long plastic tube.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But I wanted something with a little more swagger.

Read more on Salon

Wayne would swagger into town to shoot flicks like “Blue Steel,” a 1934 western starring The Duke as a U.S. marshal who pursues a baddie named the Polka Dot Bandit.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bluster 
• gloat 
• prance 
• sashay 
• saunter 
• strut