Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The quality of being jaunty; airiness; sprightliness. Also spelled jantiness.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The quality of being jaunty.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The quality of being jaunty.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun stylishness as evidenced by a smart appearance
  • noun a breezy liveliness

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Eileen's characteristic amalgam of irony and jauntiness is very difficult to separate out, but the air of exasperation is undisguised.

    Another piece of the puzzle 2005

  • I think one of their keys to success was an overall attitude of blithe, confident good humour which could be describe as "jauntiness" -- FDR was "jaunty" as was Clinton, Ike, Reagan and JFK (in a somewhat patrician way).

    Updated: My mothers review of the State of the Union Address 2010

  • People who aren't graphics professionals or who don't have a particularly developed aesthetic choose Comic Sans so often simply because it looks more like handwriting than other typefaces, unaware that the "jauntiness" of the face is inappropriate in many typographical situations.

    "Comic Sans walks into a bar, bartender says, 'We don't serve your type.'" Ann Althouse 2009

  • I do, however, take issue with the 'jauntiness' claim.

    Beethoven was always hip Patrick J. Smith 2008

  • I do, however, take issue with the 'jauntiness' claim.

    Archive 2008-03-01 Patrick J. Smith 2008

  • N.Y. Times columnist Maureen Dowd notes that "only a week ago, Fred Hiatt, the written that President Obama did not seem happy in his job, that he projected 'weariness and duty' instead of the 'jauntiness' of F.D.R. and J.F.K." But Tuesday, when the health-reform bill was signed, 'the president was joyous, and that infectious smile so sparsely offered over the last two years lit up the East Room.

    Hollywood Elsewhere 2010

  • He wore them absolutely without inflection or style, with none of the jauntiness that usually comes with long practice.

    The 7 Glenn Beck 2011

  • The female reader, on the other hand, will hate the jauntiness, the teasing smile implicit in “I weep a tiny bit,” more than anything; it is better to be opposed in earnest.

    Monster of Marriage 2010

  • “Daz has been fabulous,” she offered, a false jauntiness in her voice.

    Earl of Durkness Alix Rickloff 2011

  • Both the press and the public are seduced by jauntiness -- it is a very likeable trait.

    Updated: My mothers review of the State of the Union Address 2010

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