Skip to main content
PlainSpell

cavalier

cav·a·lier/ˈkæ.vəˌlir/adjective, noun, verb

cavalier is spelled C-A-V-A-L-I-E-R: 8 letters and 3 syllables (cav·a·lier). It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, cavalier means “Lacking the proper care or concern for something important, reckless, rash, high-handed” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in cavalier?

Letters8: C-A-V-A-L-I-E-R
Syllables3: cav·a·lier
In writing1.5 times per million words; the 23,253rd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is cavalier?

Cavalier appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce cavalier?

  • /ˌkævəˈlɪɚ/
  • US /ˈkæ.vəˌlir/

Cavalier has 3 syllables, split cav·a·lier in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-cavalier.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of cavalier

  • more cavalier comparative
  • most cavalier superlative
  • cavaliers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • cavaliering participle, present
  • cavaliered participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does cavalier mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

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

  2. 2

    High-spirited.

  3. 3

    Supercilious.

  4. 4

    obsoleteFree and easy; unconcerned with formalities

  5. 5

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

noun

  1. 1

    A military man serving on horse, (chiefly) early modern cavalry officers who had abandoned the heavy armor of medieval knights.

  2. 2

    A gallant: a sprightly young dashing military man.

  3. 3

    A gentleman of the class of such officers.

  4. 4

    Alternative letter-case form of Cavalier, a royalist partisan of Charles I of England during the English Civil War, especially from the upper classes.

  5. 5

    slangSomeone with an uncircumcised penis.

  6. 6

    A defensive work rising from a bastion, etc., and overlooking the surrounding area.

noun

as Cavalier
  1. 1

    A royalist partisan of Charles I of England during the English Civil War, especially from the upper classes.

  2. 2

    A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

  3. 3

    A Chevrolet Cavalier.

verb

  1. 1

    datedOf a man: to act in a gallant and dashing manner toward (women).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Cavalier in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchcavalier, cavalière, nonchalant, nonchalante (not caring enough about something important), chevalier (military man serving on horse)
Germannachlässig (not caring enough about something important), Kavallerist (military man serving on horse), übermütig (high-spirited), hochmütig (supercilious, haughty, disdainful), Kavalier (sprightly military man)
Spanishcaballero (military man serving on horse)
Portuguesecavalheiro (well mannered man; a gentleman)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does cavalier come from?

First appears c. 1562 in a translation by Peter Whitehorne.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after cavalier