Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Strikingly fashionable or luxurious. synonym: fashionable.
  • adjective Ostentatious or pretentious.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Any weak fermented drink; cheap beer.
  • noun A drink composed of water, molasses, and vinegar.
  • noun An active or clever young fellow.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Rather posh, elegant, ritzy.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective imposingly fashionable and elegant

Etymologies

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Examples

  • While frolicking tourists sunbathe on beaches and dine in swanky resorts, while a few thousand elite Moroccans are living high on the hog, millions of malnourished, destitute, and sallow Moroccans in remote rural areas scratch the dirt for survival and take shelter in dwellings so sparsely furnished and poorly built that they look like caves.

    Global Voices in English » Blogging About Poverty And Development In The Arab World 2009

  • The settlers live large on the West Bank, often in swanky houses, using up 80% of the available water (while nearby Palestinian farmers watch their livestock die of thirst*), and sitting on vast reserves of unused land allocated to them by the Israeli state.

    Archive 2009-03-01 2009

  • Went from 4 stories in swanky hood to 2 stories in less-swanky, but much more convenient hood.

    We Love You, Elliott Bay 2009

  • Despite their brevity, I just love her tastes in swanky background music (the theme from Mannix — yeah!).

    Queen of the House : Scrubbles.net 2006

  • Despite their brevity, I just love her tastes in swanky background music (the theme from Mannix — yeah!).

    2006 February : Scrubbles.net 2006

  • Although this film boasts beautiful black and white cinematography and Joan looks great in swanky Adrian-designed duds, this film falls short of the ‘33 version in every department.

    2009 October : Scrubbles.net 2009

  • Although this film boasts beautiful black and white cinematography and Joan looks great in swanky Adrian-designed duds, this film falls short of the ‘33 version in every department.

    Weekly Mishmash: September 27-October 10 : Scrubbles.net 2009

  • Bukowski Tavern, a craft-beer bar, isn't exactly what I'd call "swanky," on account of the high tattoo coverage, but it did serve as the perfect search result when I told the app I wanted to be "around hipsters" also, I believe, a circle of hell.

    The Digital Bar Crawl Luke O'Neil 2011

  • The Overnighter from Benefit Cosmetics, is described as a swanky sleepover set.

    unknown title 2009

  • Hopmeyer lived well too, driving a 2005 Jaguar XJ and calling a swanky Yorkville pad home.

    Macleans.ca 2009

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