jaunty adj

1 marked by smartness in dress and manners; "a dapper young man"; "a jaunty red hat" [syn: dapper, dashing, natty, raffish, rakish, smart, spiffy, snappy, spruce]

2 having a cheerful, lively, and self-confident air; "looking chipper, like a man...diverted by his own wit"- Frances G. Patton; "life that is gay, brisk, and debonair"- H.M.Reynolds; "walked with a jaunty step"; "a jaunty optimist" [syn: chipper, debonair, debonaire] [also: jauntiest, jauntier]

English

Etymology

Formerly spelt janty, from gentil. See gentle, and compare genty.

Adjective

1. Airy; showy; finical; hence, characterized by an affected or fantastical manner.

   The courtier was a jaunty fellow, attuned to the esoteric court gossip and attentive to the least beneficial wind of favor blowing from the throne.

2. Dapper or stylish.

   He wore a jaunty beaver hat that was all the rage.

3. Ostentatiously self-confident.

   He walked down the street with a jaunty swaggering step, as if daring others less perfectly satisfied to intrude upon his good mood.

airy, blithe, brave, bravura, braw, breezy, brisk, buoyant, carefree, cheerful, chic, chichi, classy, clothes-conscious, colorful, corky, cosmopolitan, dapper, daring, dashing, debonair, dressed to advantage, dressed to kill, dressy, elegant, exhibitionistic, exquisite, flamboyant, flash, flashing, flashy, flaunting, free and easy, frilly, frisky, frothy, gallant, gay, genteel, glittering, happy, high-spirited, jazzy, jolly, jovial, jubilant, light, lighthearted, lightsome, lively, merry, natty, neat, nifty, nobby, perky, posh, rakish, recherche, resilient, ritzy, sharp, showy, sleek, smart, smug, snazzy, soigne, soignee, sophisticated, spiffy, spirited, splashy, splurgy, sporty, sprightly, spruce, style-conscious, stylish, swank, swanky, swell, tricksy, trig, trim, well-dressed, well-groomed