debonair
/ˌdɛbəˈnɛɹ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.33 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Suave, urbane and sophisticated.
Example Sentences
- "Let be that Ladie debonaire, / Thou recreant knight, and soone thy selfe prepaire / To battell […]."
- "“He's doing it wrong! I am much more suave, debonair, and sophisticated than that!” “Yes, Dan, that's a very debonair stain you have on your shirt.” “I'll have you know I have sophistication coming out the wazoo!”"
- "She was a New York City person. Sacco is nervy and sassy and sort of debonair."
- "The hard launch of what appeared to be the hottest new relationship in town – Billanna? Winty? – at the 2023 Met Gala saw Vogue supremo Wintour, who has hosted the Met Gala for 30 years, walk the red carpet arm in arm with the dashing and debonair Love Actually star, a man Clive James named “the nation’s leading male sexpot”."
- "But yet, shall my vanity extend only to personals, such as the gracefulness of dress, my debonnaire, and my assurance—Self-taught, self-acquired, these!"
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌdɛbəˈnɛɹ/
- British English: /ˌdɛbəˈneə(ɹ)/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more debonair (comparative)
most debonair (superlative)
debonaire (alternative)
debonnaire (alternative)
débonnaire (alternative)