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JAUNTY
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Irregular inflected forms: jauntier , jauntiest
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Having a cheerful, lively, and self-confident air
Example:
a jaunty optimist
Synonyms:
chipper; debonair; debonaire; jaunty
Classified under:
Similar:
cheerful (being full of or promoting cheer; having or showing good spirits)
Derivation:
jauntiness (a breezy liveliness)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners
Example:
a jaunty red hat
Synonyms:
dapper; dashing; jaunty; natty; raffish; rakish; snappy; spiffy; spruce
Classified under:
Similar:
fashionable; stylish (being or in accordance with current social fashions)
Derivation:
jauntiness (stylishness as evidenced by a smart appearance)
Context examples:
I, who knew him well, could tell from his wan cheeks and his restless fingers that he was at his wit’s ends what to do; but no stranger who observed his jaunty bearing, the flecking of his laced handkerchief, the handling of his quizzing glass, or the shooting of his ruffles, would ever have thought that this butterfly creature could have had a care upon earth.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
My uncle had preserved his jaunty demeanour as long as Warr was in the room, but the door had hardly closed upon him before he turned to me with a face which was more agitated than I had ever seen it.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
He had become more jaunty, too, in the swing of his shoulders and the poise of his head, and it brought my confidence back to see the brisk way in which he squared up to his man.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
She was hurrying off as she talked—her brown hand waved a jaunty salute as she melted into her party at the door.
(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)
She wasn't able to endure being at a disadvantage, and given this unwillingness, I suppose she had begun dealing in subterfuges when she was very young in order to keep that cool, insolent smile turned to the world and yet satisfy the demands of her hard jaunty body.
(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)
