swagger

[swag-er]

verb (used without object)

to walk or strut with a defiant or insolent air.
to boast or brag noisily.

verb (used with object)

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

noun

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

Origin of swagger

First recorded in 1580–90; swag¹ + -er⁶

Related formsswag·ger·er, nounout·swag·ger, verb (used with object)

Synonyms for swagger

1. See strut¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for swaggered

sashay, strut, prance, gloat, bluster, saunter, swank, bully, boast, cock, swell, pontificate, grandstand, sweep, brandish, hector, brag, flourish, lord, sway

Examples from the Web for swaggered

Contemporary Examples of swaggered

Hizzoner asked in a pleading tone—an extremely rare posture for a man who in the past had swaggered with an air of invincibility.
Despite Crack and Graft, D.C. Loved ‘Hizzoner’ Marion Barry
Lloyd Grove
November 23, 2014
He swaggered into the school cafeteria that day with a .22 caliber handgun and started shooting randomly.
How To Plan A Jailbreak
Seth Ferranti
September 13, 2014
In cowboy boots and fake Stetson, and with a large pistol on his hip, he swaggered around Parchman as if he owned it.
John Grisham's First Short Story: Part Two
John Grisham
October 26, 2009

Historical Examples of swaggered

And he swaggered out before M. Binet had recovered from his speechlessness.
Scaramouche
Rafael Sabatini
Bill McCandless leaped from the saddle and swaggered to the corral bars.
When the West Was Young
Frederick R. Bechdolt
He swaggered a little over the letter and told the family he had to, it was such luck.
The Prisoner
Alice Brown
He paused and swaggered a little on the precarious support of his cracker box.
Hidden Water
Dane Coolidge
"Swaggered," supplied Cummings coolly as the president's voice lapsed.
The Million-Dollar Suitcase
Alice MacGowan

British Dictionary definitions for swaggered

swagger

verb

(intr) to walk or behave in an arrogant manner
(intr often foll by about) to brag loudly
(tr) rare to force, influence, etc, by blustering

noun

arrogant gait, conduct, or manner

adjective

British informal, rare elegantly fashionable

Derived Formsswaggerer, nounswaggering, adjectiveswaggeringly, adverb

Word Origin for swagger

C16: probably from swag

swagger

swaggie (ˈswæɡɪ)

noun

other names for swagman

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

Word Origin and History for swaggered

swagger

1590, first recorded in Shakespeare ("Midsummer Night's Dream"), probably a frequentative form of swag (v.). Related: Swaggered; swaggering. The noun is attested from 1725.