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jaunty

jaunty

11 6.3
Lively and cheerful in a confident, stylish way
  • adjective
  • /ˈdʒɔnti/
: desenfadado
  • He walked into the room with a jaunty smile, exuding confidence.
  • jaunty fedora
  • jaunty hat
  • jaunty tune

The corridors of a school mean nothing to the jaunty kid who strolls down and blissfully content with life.

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Examples

  • Long red hair streamed behind her from beneath a jaunty green cap.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • A green-and-yellow cap had been placed on top of the bush at a jaunty angle.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • In the garden, three jaunty young men shared a smoke and a good joke.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Instead, he would get jaunty and lighthearted, acting as if a tennis match were of no import.

    Academic text (2007)
  • David watched until the little car and its jaunty bumper sticker were out of sight.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • And he had often recalled their unshadowed good times, their free and jaunty explorations.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Bandicut gave Bronson a jaunty salute and grabbed a ladder up to the work cabin.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Atop her head was a jaunty straw boater with a cerise silk band.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • His head is held high, and the chin's jaunty angle emphasizes that he boasted the longest beard.

    Academic text (2004)
  • AROUND THE CORNER comes an ecstatic Jack driving a jaunty Christmasland snowmobile, heavily laden with Christmasland memorabilia.

    Fiction book (1993)

Synonyms

jolly
vsjaunty
100 1.0

Happy and lively in a friendly way

is more about confident stylish appearance as well as cheer
spirited
vsjaunty
64 4.1

Full of energy and enthusiasm

includes similar energy but adds visible stylish confidence
perky
vsjaunty
46 4.1

Cheerful and full of energy

adds a noticeable fashionable, stylish presentation to that energy
dashing
vsjaunty
35 4.3

Attractive and stylish in a confident, lively way

is similarly lively but usually lighter and more playful in tone
chipper
vsjaunty
20 5.3

Being happy and lively and showing confidence

leans more toward a visible fashionable, stylish confidence
dapper
vsjaunty
20 6.2

Neat and stylish in the way a man dresses

is more about cheerful confident style than just neatness
spiffy
vsjaunty
  • Informal
17 7.8

Neat and stylish in appearance

adds upbeat confident liveliness beyond mere neat appearance
vivacious
vsjaunty
15 7.0

Full of energy and cheer that attracts other people

adds a clearer sense of confident stylistic flair beyond animation
light-hearted
vsjaunty
14 3.5

Happy and not serious

adds a finer sense of confident, stylish presentation to cheer
jovial
vsjaunty
13 3.9

Happy and friendly in a lively, joking way

keeps cheer but adds a more stylish confident outward manner
snappy
vsjaunty
  • Informal
11 3.8

Stylish and neat in appearance, often because of clothes or hair

stresses a lively, confident manner rather than only neatness
rakish
vsjaunty
4 8.4

Having a smart, lively, and slightly bold look or manner

keeps cheerful confidence but without the daring edge
natty
vsjaunty
3 8.1

Dressed in a neat and stylish way

adds a brighter, more confident liveliness to simple fashion
jazzy
vsjaunty
2 6.3

Bright and showy in style to attract attention

keeps style and cheer but is usually less flashy and more light
spruce
vsjaunty
1 4.8

Looking neat and stylish

is livelier and more playful rather than purely elegant
chippy
vsjaunty
  • UK
1 7.7

Being lively and cheerful, often a little cheeky

is similarly lively but more polished and fashion aware
chappy
vsjaunty
  • UK
1 8.1

Happy and full of energy

puts more emphasis on outward confident, stylish presentation
swaggy
vsjaunty
  • Slang
1 8.9

Looks stylish and confident in a cool way

leans more toward cheerful, playful confidence than cool posing
debonaire
vsjaunty
  • Archaic
1 9.8

A man who is cheerful, confident, charming, and well dressed

is more casual and playfully confident rather than formally charming

Antonyms

16 2.1

Making people feel sad because of how it looks or feels

10 4.5

Feeling very sad and not hopeful

Compounds

jaunty car
  • Archaic
9.9

A two-wheeled open cart pulled by a horse with seats facing outward

How Lively

exuberant
22 5.9
jaunty
11 6.3
cheerful
99 1.0
breezy
19 2.8
calm
680 1.0

Surface Forms

jaunty positive

Morphology

jaunty = jaunt (opaque) = jaunt + y

Although the form suggests 'jaunt' + '-y', the modern meaning 'lively and stylish' is not directly inferable from 'jaunt' ('short trip'), so the relation is not transparent for typical learners.

Etymology

Jaunty can be remembered from the word jaunt 'a short, lively trip'. Someone who is jaunty looks cheerful and confident, like a person who has just come back from a happy, stylish walk.