If you describe a person or their behaviour as cavalier, you are criticizing them because you think that they do not consider other people's feelings or take account of the seriousness of a situation.
[disapproval]
The Editor takes a cavalier attitude to the concept of fact checking.
Synonyms: offhand, lordly, arrogant, lofty More Synonyms of cavalier
More Synonyms of cavalier
cavalier in British English
(ˌkævəˈlɪə)
adjective
1.
showing haughty disregard; offhand
noun
2.
a gallant or courtly gentleman, esp one acting as a lady's escort
3. archaic
a horseman, esp one who is armed
Derived forms
cavalierly (ˌcavaˈlierly)
adverb
Word origin
C16: from Italian cavaliere, from Old Provençal cavalier, from Late Latin caballārius rider, from caballus horse, of obscure origin
Cavalier in British English
(ˌkævəˈlɪə)
noun
a supporter of Charles I during the English Civil War
Compare Roundhead
cavalier in American English
(ˌkævəˈlɪr)
noun
1.
an armed horseman; knight
2.
a gallant or courteous gentleman, esp. one serving as a lady's escort
3. [C-]
a partisan of Charles I of England in his struggles with Parliament (1641-49); Royalist
see also Roundhead
adjective
4. [C-]
a.
of the Cavaliers
b.
associated with the court of Charles I of England
Cavalier poets
5.
a.
free and easy
b.
casual or indifferent toward matters of some importance
c.
haughty; arrogant; supercilious
Derived forms
cavalierly (ˌcavaˈlierly)
adverb
cavalierness (ˌcavaˈlierness)
noun
Word origin
Fr < It cavaliere < LL caballarius < L caballus, horse; akin to Gr kaballēs; prob. < native name in Asia Minor
Examples of 'cavalier' in a sentence
cavalier
The cavalier behaviour of the driver was too painful to deal with.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Yet some people who have had their passport go missing say the Passport Office shows a cavalier attitude to the problem.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
To treat them in such a cavalier fashion is to court their displeasure.
The Sun (2012)
And people can be cavalier about protecting their privacy.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Yet it would be quite wrong to deduce that he has a cavalier attitude to training.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Taxpayers will be appalled at the cavalier way money was spent.
The Sun (2010)
Her cavalier disregard for the law is not one of them.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Most organisations can be accused of a cavalier approach to where the money goes.
The Sun (2013)
They behaved in a cavalier fashion and caused resentment.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
There appears to be a cavalier attitude.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Her cavalier disregard for money caused headaches.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
He said the failures reflected a wider cavalier attitude to privacy that the company needed to address.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
So a school that treats pupils in a cavalier way is unlikely to make a profit for long.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
But the problem was neither in the lack of evidence nor that people were cavalier about the need for evidence.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
More disturbing in the quotation is the rather cavalier way it seems to sort lives into the meaningful and the meaningless.
The Times Literary Supplement (2014)
At present, people can be cavalier about fines.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The public should be thankful that some MPs have a conscience and not a cavalier disregard of democracy.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
New laws introduced in 1980 encouraged them to become increasingly cavalier in their approach to lending just as their deposit bases were crumbling.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Their cavalier approach means I do not expect them to finish there.
The Sun (2011)
The idea of treating the lives of horses in so, as it were, cavalier a fashion increasinglyupsets the nation.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
In other languages
cavalier
British English: cavalier ADJECTIVE
If you describe a person or their behaviour as cavalier, you think that they do not consider other people's feelings or take account of the seriousness of a situation.
The editor takes a cavalier attitude to the concept of fact checking.
American English: cavalier
Brazilian Portuguese: arrogante
Chinese: 目空一切的
European Spanish: arrogante
French: désinvolte
German: unbekümmert
Italian: noncurante
Japanese: むとんじゃくな
Korean: 안중에도 없는
European Portuguese: arrogante
Latin American Spanish: arrogante
(adjective)
Definition
showing haughty disregard
He has always had a cavalier attitude towards other people's feelings.
Synonyms
offhand
Consumers found the attitude of its staff offhand.
lordly
their lordly indifference to patients
arrogant
an air of arrogant indifference
lofty
the lofty disdain he often expresses for his profession
curt
`The matter is closed,' was his curt reply.
condescending
I'm fed up with your condescending attitude.
haughty
She spoke in a haughty tone.
scornful
a scornful smile
disdainful
He gave us a disdainful glance and moved on.
insolent
supercilious
His manner is supercilious and arrogant.
1 (noun)
Synonyms
knight
the bright tabards of the knights in armour
equestrian
a record performance yet to be beaten by any other British equestrian
horseman
Geraldo was a fine horseman.
chevalier
2 (noun)
Definition
a gallant or courtly gentleman
Synonyms
gentleman
blade (archaic)
escort
My sister needed an escort for a company dinner.
beau
gallant
a young gallant who is in love
Additional synonyms
in the sense of arrogant
Definition
having an exaggerated opinion of one's own importance or ability
an air of arrogant indifference
Synonyms
conceited,
lordly,
assuming,
proud,
swaggering,
pompous,
pretentious,
stuck up (informal),
cocky,
contemptuous,
blustering,
imperious,
overbearing,
haughty,
scornful,
puffed up,
egotistical,
disdainful,
self-important,
presumptuous,
high-handed,
insolent,
supercilious,
high and mighty (informal),
overweening,
immodest,
swollen-headed,
bigheaded (informal),
uppish (British, informal),
too big for your boots or breeches
in the sense of beau
Definition
a man who is greatly concerned with his appearance