highfalutin

high·fa·lu·tin

adjective \ˌhī-fə-ˈlü-t^ən\

Definition of HIGHFALUTIN

1

: pretentious, fancy

2

: expressed in or marked by the use of high-flown bombastic language : pompous

Variants of HIGHFALUTIN

high·fa·lu·tin also hi·fa·lu·tin \ˌhī-fə-ˈlü-t^ən\

Examples of HIGHFALUTIN

1. a highfalutin way of talking
2. <his highfalutin paean to the working class failed to win over a crowd that wanted to hear down-to-earth proposals for economic relief>

Origin of HIGHFALUTIN

perhaps from ²high + alteration of fluting, present participle of flute

First Known Use: 1839

Related to HIGHFALUTIN

Synonyms

aureate, florid, grandiloquent, flowery (also hifalutin), high-flown, high-sounding, magnific, ornate, purple, rhetorical (also rhetoric)

Antonyms

humble, lowly, modest, unarrogant, unpretentious

Related Words

affected, bloated, fancy-pants, grandiose, inflated, pompous, pretentious, stilted; excessive, flattering, fulsome; boastful, bombastic; elevated, eloquent, lofty; bookish, inkhorn, learned

Near Antonyms

prosaic, unpoetic; bald, direct, lean, matter-of-fact, plain, plainspoken, simple, spare, stark, straightforward, unadorned; natural, unaffected, unpretentious