swaggering
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- swaggeringly adverb
- unswaggering adjective
- unswaggeringly adverb
Etymology
Origin of swaggering
Explanation
Someone who is arrogant and pompous can be described as swaggering. A swaggering bully strides confidently up to the front of the line, pushing other people out of his way, certain he deserves to be first on the airplane. Use the adjective swaggering to describe someone with little regard for other people's feelings and an inflated sense of their own self-worth. You shyly start to raise your hand in English class, only to hear a swaggering classmate loudly call out the wrong answer. Swaggering comes from the verb swagger, "strut insolently," one of those English words famous for being coined by Shakespeare.
Vocabulary lists containing swaggering
As I Lay Dying
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Death in the Jungle
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The Elephant Girl
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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.
It is now narrowly focused on District of Columbia news and politics, making it less a swaggering international newspaper than a publication whose purview matches Politico’s.
From Slate • Feb. 7, 2026
The standout characters in “Crucible” include Ford’s swaggering head of security, Harry Bennett, a former boxer who uses his Dearborn, Mich., office for rifle target practice and keeps lion cubs as pets.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026
Reiner injects warmth and realism to Sorkin’s swaggering original script, loaded with wonky dialogue and walk-and-talks.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2025
The “Saturday Night Live” head writer made the most of his time on two legs, playing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth as a swaggering, pro wrestling-esque maniac.
From Salon • Dec. 7, 2025
Nat remembered all the brawny swaggering seamen who had crowded the chandlery.
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
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.
