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Does throwing on a jaunty hat make someone appear more genteel? Maybe, but something more definitive links the words: both jaunty and genteel come from the French word gentil, meaning "of aristocratic birth." Genteel was borrowed first to describe things associated with aristocratic people. Jaunty joined the language just a few years later in the mid-17th century as a synonym of stylish and also as a synonym for genteel. While genteel has maintained its associations of propriety and high social class, jaunty has traipsed into less stuffy territory as a descriptor of tunes and hats and other things that suggest lively confidence.
Synonyms
Examples of jaunty in a Sentence
Sean Thomas, Vogue, 3 Sep. 2024
By summer’s end, Luke won the award for most dedicated student.
UCLA Sports
DeShaun Foster pokes fun at himself as UCLA opens preseason camp with a jaunty vibe
July 31, 2024
He’s already risen from humble football beginnings.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2024
The shirt was part of a jaunty vibe that helped Foster settle into the rhythm of fall camp after a largely sleepless night in anticipation of a new version of a familiar experience.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2024
The album’s penultimate song starts as unassuming as the others, with just a jaunty little guitar strum.
—Justin Curto, Vulture, 15 Mar. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Jaunty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jaunty. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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