swagger

/ˈswæɡər/ informal

Say it: SWAG-er

1. noun A very confident, and often arrogant or aggressive, way of walking or behaving.
He walked through the school halls with the swagger of a senior on the first day.
2. verb To walk or behave in a very confident, arrogant, or aggressive manner.
The boxer would swagger into the ring, intimidating his opponents before the first punch.
3. noun A stylish and confident quality; a bold sense of self-assurance.
The band has a certain swagger that makes their live performances unforgettable.
🇪🇸 pavonearse

📖 Seen in the wild

I wrote it thinking it would come out very witty; but now, seeing for myself that I simply had a vile wish to swagger—I purposely won't cross it out!
collected by @missha

✏️ swagger in a sentence

After winning the championship, the team got its swagger back.
He swaggered up to the podium, certain of his victory.
Her resume was impressive, but it was her swagger during the interview that landed her the job.
In the world of hip-hop, swagger is just as important as lyrical skill.
He lost his swagger after the public criticism and became much more reserved.
She answered the difficult questions with a cool swagger that impressed the panel.
The actor is known for playing characters with a lot of swagger and charm.

🔁 Synonyms & antonyms

strut bravado cockiness bluster sashay prance arrogance braggadocio

strut · implies a stiffer, more pompous and showy walk.

bravado · focuses on a show of boldness that may be hiding insecurity.

cockiness · highlights the arrogant and overconfident aspect, often in an annoying way.

bluster · refers more to loud, boastful talk than to physical manner.

Opposites: humility, modesty, timidity, diffidence, meekness

🌱 Where it comes from

The word swagger likely entered English around the 1590s from a Scandinavian source related to words meaning 'to sway or swing'. It quickly developed its sense of boastful or strutting behavior, famously used by Shakespeare to describe insolent characters. Its more recent evolution in the 20th and 21st centuries, particularly in American slang and hip-hop culture, has softened its purely negative edge to also mean stylish self-assurance.

🧩 How it's used

Common patterns:

walk with a swaggera confident swaggeran arrogant swaggerlose one's swaggerget one's swagger backfull of swagger

Swagger's connotation can be tricky. Traditionally, it described an unlikeable arrogance. However, in modern informal contexts, especially in sports and music, it often has a positive meaning of cool, admirable confidence. Because of this ambiguity and its informal nature, it's best used in contexts where the intended meaning is clear and avoided in formal or academic writing unless you are describing a specific behavior.

Word family: swaggering, swaggerer

💬 Quick answers

What does swagger mean?

Swagger refers to a very confident, sometimes arrogant, way of walking or behaving. In modern informal use, it can also mean a general sense of stylish self-assurance or cool confidence.

Is having swagger a good or bad thing?

It can be either. The word carries a dual connotation: it can imply negative arrogance and cockiness, or it can describe a positive, stylish self-confidence. The interpretation depends heavily on the context and the observer.

What is the difference between swagger and confidence?

Confidence is an internal state of self-belief. Swagger is the external, often physical, expression of that confidence, usually in a way that is deliberately noticeable, showy, or even defiant.

1 word nerd collected it

Want "swagger" to actually stick?

Save it to your own vault, let AI explain it, practice till it's yours.

Start for free →