swagger

American  

[swag-er] / ˈswæg ər /

verb (used without object)

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

2. to boast or brag noisily.

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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 British  

/ 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

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noun

1. arrogant gait, conduct, or manner

adjective

1. informal elegantly fashionable

swagger ² British  

/ ˈswæɡə, ˈswæɡɪ /

noun

1. other names for swagman

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Related Words

See strut ¹.

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of swagger

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

Example Sentences

He evinces the warmhearted humanity that Sonny tries feebly to hide when he believes he has to show menacing swagger.

From The Wall Street Journal

He carries himself with a flawless kind of confidence, the swagger of belonging.

From Literature

“Let Me Roll It” had a funky swagger, while “Getting Better” chugged with cheerful insistence; “I’ve Just Seen a Face” showed off the group’s crisp harmonies and “Lady Madonna” its tight rhythmic interplay.

From Los Angeles Times

The two entrepreneurs came to epitomize a certain swagger of the first hype cycle roughly a decade ago when Silicon Valley was betting it could replace a world of human-driven cars with robots.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Monarch” swaggers forth on the strength of Kurt Russell’s rebel cowboy spirit.

From Salon

Related Words

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