cavalier
noun
a horseman, especially a mounted soldier; knight.
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cavalier
American
[kav-uh-leer, kav-uh-leer]
/ ˌkæv əˈlɪər, ˈkæv əˌlɪər /
noun
cavaliers
plural
-
a horseman, especially a mounted soldier; knight.
-
one having the spirit or bearing of a knight; a courtly gentleman; gallant.
-
a man escorting a woman or acting as her partner in dancing.
-
(initial capital letter) an adherent of Charles I of England in his contest with Parliament.
adjective
-
haughty, disdainful, or supercilious.
an arrogant and cavalier attitude toward others.
- Synonyms:
- condescending, thoughtless, uncaring, offhand, indifferent
-
offhand or unceremonious.
The very dignified officials were confused by his cavalier manner.
-
(initial capital letter) of or relating to the Cavaliers.
-
(initial capital letter) of, relating to, or characteristic of the Cavalier poets or their work.
verb (used without object)
-
to play the cavalier.
-
to be haughty or domineering.
cavalier
1
British
/ ˌkævəˈlɪə /
adjective
noun
-
a gallant or courtly gentleman, esp one acting as a lady's escort
-
archaic a horseman, esp one who is armed
Cavalier
2
British
/ ˌkævəˈlɪə /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of cavalier
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Middle French: “horseman, knight,” from Old Italian cavaliere, from Old Provençal, from Late Latin caballārius “man on horseback,” equivalent to Latin caball(us) “horse” ( cf. capercaillie) + -ārius -ary
Explanation
Someone who is cavalier has a dismissive attitude and regards other people as inferior. If you think you know more than your teacher and never bother doing homework, your parents might complain that you are cavalier about your studies. The word cavalier dates from mid-16th-century French, from the Latin caballus, meaning “horse.” If you have a cavalier attitude, you look down on other people — as if you are sitting on a very tall horse and other people are sitting down there on the ground.
Vocabulary lists containing cavalier
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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:
Much of the world still thinks of Latin American organized crime in terms of cut-throat cocaine cartels and cavalier capos like Pablo Escobar.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
Travolta’s never been cavalier about his passion for flying and aeronautics, but rarely has he spoken as candidly about the source of that love as he does in “Propeller One-Way Night Coach.”
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026
If we call the cops on teens violating a city curfew, it suggests a cavalier attitude toward the perils of the justice system.
From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026
One shouldn’t be cavalier about the effects such restrictions can have on a country’s politics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
He was a true cavalier, with his fine embroidered coat, his commanding air, and the wealth of dark curb that flowed over his velvet collar.
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
In his telling, two distinct social archetypes rooted in the era of England’s 17th-century civil war—the Cavalier and the Puritan—were symbolized by the ships of his title, the White Lion and the Mayflower.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
This year he has brought two Bernese, a Border Collie, a Pomeranian and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
From Barron's ● Mar. 5, 2026
Stephanie Okrepkie drove away with her son, the family’s black Lab mix and their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2025
Bozy, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, almost didn’t make it a year.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2024
Travis parked his red Ford pickup behind Dill’s mom’s Chevy Cavalier.
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
She was at Westminster on Monday to show one of her cavaliers, named Hope.
From Seattle Times ● May 8, 2023
So the BBC Radio 4's Today programme debate on "Do We Need a Monarchy?" offered snapshots into these competing world views, serving up a pundits' version of roundheads versus cavaliers.
From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2023
He wished that his knights for the battle would thirst, But his “brave” cavaliers were, quite simply, The Worst.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 21, 2022
The divas and cavaliers of this all-male troupe are — as they present themselves to us in performance — fabulously stupid, artificial, hammy, clichéd, superficial, dated, monstrous.
From New York Times ● Dec. 15, 2016
The only ones who even irritated him were the cavaliers, the high-bred, feathery, courtly ones who spoke like Englishmen and treated a man like dirt.
From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara
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.
