swaggering

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈswæɡɚɪŋ/ UK /ˈswæɡərɪŋ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
behaving or moving in an arrogantly confident, self-important way

He crossed the bar with a swaggering, devil-may-care stride.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · behaving or moving in an... struttingboastful cocky arrogantblusteringconceited bumptious

Opposites

modest humble unassuming

Word family

Related forms swagger swag

Etymology

Present participle of swagger (probably a frequentative of swag 'to sway, lurch', of Scandinavian origin, akin to Old Norse sveggja 'to sway') used adjectivally.

sveggja Old Norse

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# swaggering

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈswæɡɚɪŋ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈswæɡərɪŋ/

## Meanings
1. behaving or moving in an arrogantly confident, self-important way

## Examples
- He crossed the bar with a swaggering, devil-may-care stride.

## Synonyms
- strutting
- boastful
- cocky
- arrogant
- blustering
- conceited
- bumptious

## Antonyms
- modest
- humble
- unassuming

## Related Forms
- swagger
- swag

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sveggja

## Etymology
Present participle of swagger (probably a frequentative of swag 'to sway, lurch', of Scandinavian origin, akin to Old Norse sveggja 'to sway') used adjectivally.

## AI Etymology
Swaggering is the present participle of swagger (probably a frequentative of swag 'to sway, lurch', of Scandinavian origin, akin to Old Norse sveggja 'to sway') used adjectivally. Important recorded forms include sveggja (Old Norse). Morphologically, the ending or combining element adapts the older base to the present English part of speech while keeping the historical sense visible. The wording preserves that uncertainty: the older history is best read as a cautious account rather than a fully settled chain. The modern sense continues the older lexical line without requiring a separate origin. In current use it covers behaving or moving in an arrogantly confident, self-important way. The wider family includes related words such as swagger and swag.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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