Meaning

5 senses

  1. Lacking the proper care or concern for something important, reckless, rash, high-handed.

    nachlässig

  2. High-spirited.

    übermütig

    ре́звыйrézvyj

  3. Supercilious.

    hochmütig

    надме́нныйnadménnyj, высокоме́рныйvysokomérnyj

  4. (historical)Of or pertaining to the party of King Charles I of England (1600–1649).

  5. (obsolete)Free and easy; unconcerned with formalities

More definitions
  • given to haughty disregard of others

Examples

4 sentences

  1. The cavaliers were decimated by the artillery.

    Miktsoanit · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · C1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  2. Many drivers have a cavalier attitude towards the rules of the road.

    deViele Fahrer halten Vergehen im Straßenverkehr für Kavaliersdelikte. — Pfirsichbaeumchen

    patgfisher · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · C1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  3. The victory spared the Cavaliers from setting the longest skid in North American professional sports history.

    Cangarejo · Tatoeba · CC0 · C1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  4. I don't know whether you observed it, Watson, but the Colonel's manner has been just a trifle cavalier to me.

    Hybrid · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

Translations

4 languages
Русский
By meaning 2
high-spirited:
supercilious, haughty, disdainful:
Deutsch
By meaning 3
not caring enough about something important:
high-spirited:
supercilious, haughty, disdainful:

Origin

First appears c. 1562 in a translation by Peter Whitehorne. Borrowed from Middle French ca

First appears c. 1562 in a translation by Peter Whitehorne. Borrowed from Middle French cavalier (“horseman”), itself borrowed from Old Italian cavaliere (“mounted soldier, knight”), borrowed from Old Occitan cavalier, from Late Latin caballārius (“horseman”), from Latin caballus (“horse”), probably from Gaulish caballos 'nag', variant of cabillos (compare Welsh ceffyl, Breton kefel, Irish capall), akin to German (Swabish) Kōb 'nag' and Old Church Slavonic кобꙑла (kobyla) 'mare'. Previous English forms include cavalero and cavaliero. Doublet of caballero and chevalier.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

more cavalier, most cavalier
Comparativemore cavalier Lesson
Superlativemost cavalier Lesson

regular

Synonyms

8 synonyms
offhandB2nonchalantC2haughtyC2disdainfulC2dismissivecurtbrusque
Close in meaning

Antonyms

4 antonyms
respectfulearnestB1attentiveB2stiffB2

Word family

8 related words
Derivedbeagliercavalierishcavalierismcavalierlycavaliernesscavaliershipklavalieruncavalier

Lessons for this word

2 lessons

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
cautionB1cautionarycautiousB1cautiouslycavalrycavalrymancaveB1
cavalier — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto