highfalutin

1 full of fine words and fancy expressions his highfalutin paean to the working class failed to win over a crowd that wanted to hear down-to-earth proposals for economic relief Synonyms aureate, florid, grandiloquent, flowery (also hifalutin), high-flown, high-sounding, magnific, ornate, purple, rhetorical (also rhetoric)Related Words affected, bloated, fancy-pants, grandiose, inflated, pompous, pretentious, stilted; excessive, flattering, fulsome; boastful, bombastic; elevated, eloquent, lofty; bookish, inkhorn, learnedNear Antonyms prosaic, unpoetic; bald, direct, lean, matter-of-fact, plain, plainspoken, simple, spare, stark, straightforward, unadorned; natural, unaffected, unpretentious

2 having a feeling of superiority that shows itself in an overbearing attitude her highfalutin relatives from New York made the snide remark that her little house “has that lived-in look” Synonyms assumptive, bumptious, cavalier, chesty, haughty, arrogant (also hifalutin), high-and-mighty, high-handed, high-hat, huffish, huffy, imperious, important, lofty, lordly, masterful, overweening, peremptory, pompous, presuming, presumptuous, pretentious, self-asserting, self-assertive, sniffy, stiff-necked, supercilious, superior, toplofty (also toploftical), uppish, uppityRelated Words authoritarian, bossy, dominant, dominating, domineering, magisterial, pontifical, pontificating; condescending, disdainful, patronizing; impertinent, impudent, saucy; snobbish, snobby, snooty; blusterous, blustery, boastful, bombastic, braggart, bragging, braggy, cocky, swaggering, vain, vainglorious; complacent, conceited, egocentric, egoistic (also egoistical), egotistic (or egotistical), hubristic, narcissistic, orgulous, prideful, proud, self-affected, self-applauding, self-centered, self-complacent, self-conceited, self-pleased, self-satisfied, smug, stuck-up; self-flattering, self-loving, self-promoting; brash, forward, uninhibited, unreserved; extroverted (also extraverted), immodestNear Antonyms bashful, cowering, cringing, demure, diffident, introverted, mousy (or mousey), overmodest, self-critical, self-doubting, sheepish, shrinking, shy, subdued, timid; acquiescent, compliant, deferential, meek, passive, submissive, unaggressive, unassertive, unassuming, unobtrusive, yielding; quiet, reserved, retiringAntonyms humble, lowly, modest, unarrogant, unpretentious

3 having or displaying feelings of scorn for what is regarded as beneath oneself refused to be intimidated by the highfalutin manner of the sales staff in the fashionable boutique Synonyms disdainful, haughty, proud (also hifalutin), lofty, lordly, prideful, superiorRelated Words complacent, conceited, egoistic, egotistic (also egotistical), important, self-assertive, self-conceited, self-contented, self-important, self-satisfied, smug, uppity, vain, vainglorious; arrogant, pretentious, sniffy, snobbish, stuck-up, supercilious; cavalier, overbearing, overweening, peremptory, swaggering; high-sounding, pompous; condescending, patronizing; cocky, overconfident, presuming, presumptuous; bloated, boastful, bombastic, self-glorifying; audacious, bold, brash, brassy, cheeky, cocksure, forward, impertinent, impudent, saucy; confident, presuming, self-assured, self-confident, sure; bossy, domineering, high-handed, imperious; egocentric, self-centered, selfish; dominating, magisterial, masterfulNear Antonyms demure, homely, meek, unassuming, unpretending, unpretentious; bashful, retiring, shy, timid; diffident, self-doubting; acquiescent, compliant, deferential, ingratiating, resigned, submissive, unassertive, yielding; apologetic, cowering, cringing, shrinking; passive, quiet, reserved, subdued, unobtrusiveAntonyms humble, lowly, modest

4 self-consciously trying to present an appearance of grandeur or importance “fine Southern cuisine” sounds a bit highfalutin for a barbecue shack Synonyms affected, grandiose, pretentious (also hifalutin), high-minded, la-di-da (also la-de-da or lah-de-dah or lah-dee-dah or lah-di-dah), ostentatious, pompous, snippyRelated Words airy, grandiloquent, high-flown, high-sounding, high-toned, sententious; arrogant, bumptious, complacent, conceited, egoistic (also egoistical), egotistic (or egotistical), high-and-mighty, high-handed, high-hat, hoity-toity, imperious, important, overweening, presumptuous, prideful, proud, self-asserting, self-assertive, self-centered, self-complacent, self-conceited, self-important, self-obsessed, self-pleased, self-satisfied, smug, uppity, vain, vainglorious; self-aggrandizing, self-dramatizing, self-glorifying, self-promoting; cavalier, disdainful, haughty, lordly, snobbish, snobby, stuck-up, supercilious, superior; confident, self-assured, self-confident, sure; boastful, braggart, bragging; aggressive, assertive, audacious, bold, brassy, cheeky, cocky, forward, impudent, insolent, rude; flamboyant, flashy, flaunting, garish, gaudy, glitzy, showy, splashyNear Antonyms demure, down-to-earth, homely, humble, lowly, meek, retiring, unassertive, unassuming; bashful, diffident, mousy (or mousey), overmodest, passive, quiet, reserved, shy, timidAntonyms modest, unpretentious