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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
Big Think, 24 June 2024
Butts was the driving force behind all of this, a combination of sheer determination and a willingness to engage in cavalier, bare-knuckled and sometimes legally dubious decision-making.
—Erika D. Smith, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2024
Kristen Bateman, Vogue, 27 Nov. 2023
Harrowhark Nonagesimus, having become a powerful immortal necromancer, or Lyctor, at the cost of her cavalier’s life, is fighting battles on several fronts.
—New York Times, 25 Nov. 2020
See all Example Sentences for cavalier 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cavalier.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near cavalier
Cite this Entry
“Cavalier.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cavalier. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cavalier
1 of 2 noun
cavalier
2 of 2 adjective
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