debonair en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- audio Colorado
- /ˌdebəˈniə̯/ cheer–chair merger
- /ˌdebəˈneː/ (Australia)
- /ˌdebəˈneə̯/ (Australia, Western)
- /ˌdebəˈneə̯/ without the cheer–chair merger
- /ˌdɛbəˈnɛɹ/ (Canada, General-American)
- děb-ə-nɛr' (Canada, General-American)
- /ˌdɛbəˈneə(ɹ)/ (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
Via Middle English debonaire from Old French de bon aire (“of good stock; noble”).
Meanings
-
(obsolete) Gracious, courteous.
Let be that Ladie debonaire, / Thou recreant knight, and soone thy selfe prepaire / To battell […].
1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
-
Suave, urbane and sophisticated.
“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!”
2011 January 15, Dan Mandel & Chris Pearson, “The Ninja” (10:11 from the start), in Dan Vs., season 1, episode 4, spoken by Dan (Curtis Armstrong):She was a New York City person. Sacco is nervy and sassy and sort of debonair.
2015 February 12, Jon Ronson, “How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
-
(especially, of men) Charming, confident, and carefully dressed.
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”.
2023 May 2, Samuel Fishwick, “The ‘secret romance’ that got everybody talking at the Met Gala”, in The Independent:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| debonnaire | alternative | lexicographic | |
| debonaire | alternative | lexicographic | |
| most debonair | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| débonnaire | alternative | lexicographic | |
| more debonair | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Translations (18)
de lässig-elegant (Charming, confident and carefully dressed) · ru обходи́тельный (Suave, urbane and sophisticated) · de gepflegt (Charming, confident and carefully dressed) · de reizend ((obsolete) Gracious, courteous) · de liebenswürdig ((obsolete) Gracious, courteous) · mk у́чтив ((obsolete) Gracious, courteous) · de elegant (Suave, urbane and sophisticated) · ru гала́нтный (Charming, confident and carefully dressed) · ru обходи́тельный ((obsolete) Gracious, courteous) · mk при́влечен (Charming, confident and carefully dressed) · de liebenswürdig (Charming, confident and carefully dressed) · mk о́тмен (Charming, confident and carefully dressed) · de gepflegt (Suave, urbane and sophisticated) · de charmant (Charming, confident and carefully dressed) · mk елега́нтен (Charming, confident and carefully dressed) · de reizend (Charming, confident and carefully dressed) · mk љу́безен (Suave, urbane and sophisticated) · mk у́чтив (Suave, urbane and sophisticated)