swagger
/ˈswæɡ.ɚ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.16 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To behave (especially to walk or carry oneself) in a pompous, superior manner.
Example Sentences
- "What hempen home-ſpuns haue we ſwaggering here, / So neere the Cradle of the Faierie Queene?"
- "He is a political humbug, the greatest of all humbugs; a man who swaggers about London clubs and consults solemnly about his influence, and in the country is a nonentity."
- "To be great is not […] to swagger at our footmen."
- "For the common Soldier when he goes to the Market or Ale-house will offer this Money, and if it be refused, perhaps he will SWAGGER and HECTOR, and Threaten to Beat the BUTCHER or Ale-Wife, or take the Goods by Force, and throw them the bad HALF-PENCE."
- "“They say there’s something wrong with our president!” Mr. Trump swaggered at his indoor Tulsa rally in June,[…]"
- "It's the injustice… he is so unjust— whiskey-blind, swaggering home at five."
Etymology
A frequentative form of swag (“to sway”), first attested in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595), see quotations.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈswæɡ.ɚ/
- British English: /ˈswæɡ.ə/
Usage
Inflected Forms
swaggers (present, singular)
swaggering (participle, present)
swaggered (participle, past)
swaggered (past)
swaggers (plural)
more swagger (comparative)
most swagger (superlative)