debonair
deb-uh-NAIR
/ˌdebəˈneə/
Confident, stylish, and charming, especially of a man.
Combines effortless style, carefree confidence, and dashing good looks.
The story behind the word. Derived from the Old French phrase 'de bon aire', meaning 'of good family' or 'of good breeding'. It originally referred to hawks bred from noble stock before applying to refined men.
Word relationships
- suave: Suave focuses on smooth talk and manners, whereas debonair emphasizes dashing, jaunty elegance.
- dowdy: Dowdy means unfashionable and dull in appearance.
Commonly confused with
- debonaire: Debonaire is simply an archaic French spelling variant.
Word family
- debonairness (noun): The quality of being stylish and charming.
Collocations
- debonair gentleman
- debonair appearance
- debonair charm
Example sentences
- "Dressed in a tailored tuxedo, the actor looked thoroughly debonair on the red carpet." Fiction
Memory hook
Deb-on-AIR: walking on AIR because he is so suave and confident! Dashing and jaunty.
When not to use
Rarely applied to women; avoid using for serious, stern, or academic authority.
Fun facts
- It originally described gentle hunting falcons before being used for polite gentlemen.
Take your vocabulary further with LangBlitz
Our English vocabulary app: FSRS spaced repetition, 5,000+ curated words across 119 topic groups, CEFR A1 to C2. Explore your mastery with the beautiful Vocabulary World feature.