1
as in aristocratic
being or characteristic of a person who has an offensive air of superiority and tends to ignore or disdain anyone regarded as inferior
at the wedding reception the bride's high-hat relatives did their considerable best to ignore us
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in arrogant
having a feeling of superiority that shows itself in an overbearing attitude
several high-hat society types arrived after we did, but they got seated first
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to disdain
to show contempt for
one presidential candidate presents himself as an outsider who has long been high-hatted by the Beltway elite
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to isolate
to deliberately ignore or treat rudely
was high-hatted by an old college friend who's now a power player on Wall Street
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in hard hat
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of high-hat
Christopher Cameron, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2025
For the opening scene, in which a couple makes out in a car, singer Stuart A. Staples croons the title track, with some café jazz accompaniment: Bass, piano, and lightly tapped high-hat.
—Indiewire Staff, IndieWire, 14 Aug. 2024
The bass, high-hat, guitar, and vocals all remain distinct in this busy mix and benefit from strong detail when the track fully kicks in.
—PCMAG, 10 July 2024
As the drummer counted in on his high-hat my mind went blank: not just on how to play the song, but how to play guitar, how to stay standing, how to blink, breathe, and stay conscious.
—Chris Fleming, SPIN, 4 Apr. 2023
Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 20 Oct. 2024
Instead of high hats, use wall washers, which bounce light off the walls and space.
—Adam Shell, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2025
Going high hat just did not fit, and on Sept. 9, 1927, the Bernheimer flags came down.
—Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 4 June 2022
It’s one of those ABBA songs that fools you with its mirror ball synths, a classic disco rhythm on the high hat and lush harmonizing.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 6 Nov. 2021
Indeed, at Thursday’s show in Charlotte, Jordan integrated Watts’ signature swing – and his unusual way of playing by not hitting the high hat and snare simultaneously – with his own muscular approach.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 1 Oct. 2021
Deja stifled a yawn and cranked up her music; the warring bass and high hat thrummed in her chest and kept her mostly awake.
—Brittany N. Williams, NOLA.com, 26 Oct. 2020
The song -- a frenetic trap banger built from buzzy synths and high hat -- debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 on March 2, 2013, the same week Billboard started factoring YouTube streaming data into the chart's methodology.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 21 Nov. 2019
Here comes one now, rattling catastrophically, like Max Roach whaling on the high hat.
—Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 18 Nov. 2019
Adjective
Over the last few years, a bevy of high-hat hotels have begun competing for the Big Apple’s best guests.
—Christopher Cameron, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2025
For the opening scene, in which a couple makes out in a car, singer Stuart A. Staples croons the title track, with some café jazz accompaniment: Bass, piano, and lightly tapped high-hat.
—Indiewire Staff, IndieWire, 14 Aug. 2024
The bass, high-hat, guitar, and vocals all remain distinct in this busy mix and benefit from strong detail when the track fully kicks in.
—PCMAG, 10 July 2024
As the drummer counted in on his high-hat my mind went blank: not just on how to play the song, but how to play guitar, how to stay standing, how to blink, breathe, and stay conscious.
—Chris Fleming, SPIN, 4 Apr. 2023
Noun
Carter Beauford, perhaps the most unheralded drummer in music, busied himself with syncopated patterns and dizzying high hat on the song.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 20 Oct. 2024
Instead of high hats, use wall washers, which bounce light off the walls and space.
—Adam Shell, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2025
Going high hat just did not fit, and on Sept. 9, 1927, the Bernheimer flags came down.
—Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 4 June 2022
It’s one of those ABBA songs that fools you with its mirror ball synths, a classic disco rhythm on the high hat and lush harmonizing.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 6 Nov. 2021
Indeed, at Thursday’s show in Charlotte, Jordan integrated Watts’ signature swing – and his unusual way of playing by not hitting the high hat and snare simultaneously – with his own muscular approach.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 1 Oct. 2021
Deja stifled a yawn and cranked up her music; the warring bass and high hat thrummed in her chest and kept her mostly awake.
—Brittany N. Williams, NOLA.com, 26 Oct. 2020
The song -- a frenetic trap banger built from buzzy synths and high hat -- debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 on March 2, 2013, the same week Billboard started factoring YouTube streaming data into the chart's methodology.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 21 Nov. 2019
Here comes one now, rattling catastrophically, like Max Roach whaling on the high hat.
—Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 18 Nov. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for high-hat
Adjective
-
While Nancy Mitford’s life was all aristocratic escapades splashed across the gossip pages, Bessie Carter has a penchant for German techno and British electronic-music festivals, comfy T-shirts on her days off, and a nebulizer for her vocal cords.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
18 June 2025
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Related Articles Fresh off designing the priest’s robes for the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, the designer with aristocratic roots took another deep dive into the history of France.—
Joelle Diderich,
Footwear News,
18 June 2025
Adjective
-
The protests proved conclusively that Americans will not tolerate the deployment of the U.S. military in American cities, the constant line-stepping over constitutional boundaries, the arrests of political dissenters, or the arrogant defense of police-state tactics.—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 June 2025
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In Aesop’s fable, the turtle (traditionally called a tortoise, which is a type of turtle) is a winner, a perpetual underdog who defeats the arrogant hare.—
A.O. Scott,
New York Times,
13 June 2025
Verb
-
The reckoning that followed the murder of George Floyd has given way to a backlash and a president who disdains efforts at equality, complains of anti-white prejudice and purges powerful Black men and women in the name of a mythical colorblind society.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2025
-
But just because a stock has been quiescent for a while is no reason to disdain it.—
John Dorfman,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
Verb
-
What’s driving these gains isn’t just isolated use cases or incremental automation.—
Nirit Cohen,
Forbes.com,
24 June 2025
-
The Republican Study Committee's Maximum Pressure initiative includes 10 bills designed to cut off Tehran's remaining funding, freeze their assets, isolate their regime, and protect U.S. interests.—
Kristen Waggoner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 June 2025
Noun
-
But the initial release was infamously buggy, and virtual men and women in hard hats were always yelling at me about my failures.—
Adriane Quinlan,
Curbed,
25 June 2025
-
Trump traveled to Pennsylvania two weeks ago to celebrate a deal between the two companies, speaking before a crowd of cheering steelworkers, many in hard hats and safety vests.—
Luciana Lopez,
CNN Money,
13 June 2025
Adjective
-
The first trailer for the game begins with a conversation between M, Bond’s classic superior and occasional foil, and Greenway, an original character described by IO Interactive’ website as a mentor figure (although no voice actors for the roles have been announced).—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
18 June 2025
-
The dining room’s massive plate glass windows look onto the busy Via del Tritone for superior people watching without the exhaust and noise of traffic.—
Katie Kelly Bell,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
Verb
-
In one early humorous scene, Bernadette forces Joshua to apologize to Sonny for disrespecting the older driver during a press conference.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
HollywoodReporter,
17 June 2025
-
Trump’s disregard and disrespect for our troops were also on display in Los Angeles.—
Tom Zirpoli,
Baltimore Sun,
17 June 2025
Verb
-
The boar bristles are bendy to move with hair but still stiff enough to detangle knots.—
Olivia Cigliano,
Footwear News,
12 June 2025
-
The concrete had to be strong enough to withstand all the floors pressing down on one another and stiff enough to hold up against winds that would push against the building during storms.—
Dionne Searcey,
New York Times,
4 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“High-hat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/high-hat. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
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