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The Evolution of Cavalier
The adjective cavalier comes from a noun referring to a gentleman or knight who is trained in arms and horsemanship. The noun traces back to Latin caballārius, meaning "horseback rider" or "groom." It is also used for "a swaggering fellow," and English Puritans used it disdainfully to their adversaries, the swashbuckling royalist followers of Charles I, who sported longish hair and swords. Their use undoubtedly contributed to the adjective's reference to a rather unbecoming quality.
Synonyms
Adjective
- arrogant
- assumptive
- bumptious
- chesty
- haughty
- high-and-mighty
- high-handed
- high-hat
- highfalutin
- hifalutin
- huffish
- huffy
- imperious
- important
- lofty
- lordly
- masterful
- overweening
- peremptory
- pompous
- presuming
- presumptuous
- pretentious
- self-asserting
- self-assertive
- sniffy
- stiff-necked
- supercilious
- superior
- toplofty
- toploftical
- uppish
- uppity
Noun
Examples of cavalier in a Sentence
Lisa Bloch, The Mercury News, 19 Nov. 2024
The 29-year-old can occasionally frustrate with his histrionics and cavalier playing style, but last season’s 4-0 defeat away at Crystal Palace was a chastening reminder of what the team can look like without him.
—Carl Anka, The Athletic, 13 Aug. 2024
Mike Stunson, Kansas City Star, 9 July 2024
Next came a waltz between all the debutantes and their fathers, who were passed onto their cavaliers for dancing with a live band.
—Kristen Bateman, Vogue, 27 Nov. 2023
See all Example Sentences for cavalier 
Dictionary Entries Near cavalier
Cite this Entry
“Cavalier.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cavalier. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cavalier
1 of 2 noun
cavalier
2 of 2 adjective
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