1
as in highbrow
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2
as in sententious
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Recent Examples of high-toned
Blake is accused of having drifted into high-toned seriousness; Albert, now writing for television, is branded a sellout.
—
Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2025
Bright high-toned notes of cherry and strawberry show on the palate with an intriguing texture that hints at a bit of tannin.
—Katie Kelly Bell, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
The notes of high-toned bright fruit—think sour cherry, balsamic and black tea flavors—lend it a lovely sweet-savory profile.
—Katie Kelly Bell, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
This one is savory and delicate with bright high-toned berry fruit, warm spices and a thread of richer, dark plum notes.
—Katie Kelly Bell, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
This version from Pala winery hits the high-toned cherry fruit notes, while wild herbs resonate on the finish.
—Dave McIntyre, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
Syrah lends depth and body to the region’s signature malbec’s high-toned blueberry fruit and supple tannins.
—Dave McIntyre, Washington Post, 21 Dec. 2023
The last decade surely produced some of the finest television ever, spanning high-toned dramas and offbeat comedies, several of them masterpieces unlikely to have been made under any other circumstances.
—Josef Adalian, Vulture, 6 June 2023
Blending syrah into the region’s signature malbec lends depth and body to malbec’s high-toned blueberry fruit and supple tannins.
—Dave McIntyre, Washington Post, 27 Apr. 2023
Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2025
Bright high-toned notes of cherry and strawberry show on the palate with an intriguing texture that hints at a bit of tannin.
—Katie Kelly Bell, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
The notes of high-toned bright fruit—think sour cherry, balsamic and black tea flavors—lend it a lovely sweet-savory profile.
—Katie Kelly Bell, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
This one is savory and delicate with bright high-toned berry fruit, warm spices and a thread of richer, dark plum notes.
—Katie Kelly Bell, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
This version from Pala winery hits the high-toned cherry fruit notes, while wild herbs resonate on the finish.
—Dave McIntyre, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
Syrah lends depth and body to the region’s signature malbec’s high-toned blueberry fruit and supple tannins.
—Dave McIntyre, Washington Post, 21 Dec. 2023
The last decade surely produced some of the finest television ever, spanning high-toned dramas and offbeat comedies, several of them masterpieces unlikely to have been made under any other circumstances.
—Josef Adalian, Vulture, 6 June 2023
Blending syrah into the region’s signature malbec lends depth and body to malbec’s high-toned blueberry fruit and supple tannins.
—Dave McIntyre, Washington Post, 27 Apr. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for high-toned
Adjective
-
This conclusion will shock anyone who knows Twain only through his writing, in which the author is wise and witty and, above all, devastating in his portrayal of frauds, cretins, and sententious bores.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
9 May 2025
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Audiences have no choice but to exist in the theatrical moment, without recourse to linear logic, sententious language or psychological epiphanies.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
But these cerebral dispatches realize their audience often experiences the work communally and tends to enjoy it most when accompanied by flowing synths and insistent drums.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
27 June 2025
-
Expect subversion, something a little weird, traditional craft turned cerebral.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN Money,
25 June 2025
Adjective
-
The best way to express this high-minded idealism was by mass-producing extremely potent, extremely pure LSD, almost as if its non-dilution was an expression of their own virtue.—
John Semley,
Rolling Stone,
19 Apr. 2025
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For generations, students and researchers from around the world have flocked to Boston, drawn not just to a college or university but to a region where high-minded intellectual life was part of its brand.—
Jenna Russell,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Her wide-ranging symphony of essays on Black womanhood is a treat—incisive, intellectual, intimate, funny, and formally inventive.—
Gabrielle Bellot,
Literary Hub,
24 June 2025
-
On the pages of National Review and, after 1966, on Firing Line, Buckley pioneered the do-your-own-research rhetorical style: whataboutism and verbal misdirections that often slipped into intellectual nihilism.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
24 June 2025
Adjective
-
Iran has been stringing along international watchdogs and civilized nations for years regarding its nuclear program.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
18 June 2025
-
The whole world, the United States, and Europe must finally respond as a civilized society responds to terrorists.—
Isabel van Brugen,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 June 2025
Adjective
-
The process is longest for tuberculosis, which requires samples to be cultured, grown naturally on special plates covered with nutrients, before they can be tested.—
Paul Sisson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 June 2025
-
His style is based on a unique blend of physicality and cultured in-possession play.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
17 May 2025
Adjective
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Imagine being able to see precisely how team members contribute to a project—not just who speaks up in meetings (as evidenced by transcripts) or turns in polished presentations, but who drafts, refines, questions, and rethinks.—
David Ferrucci,
Fortune,
30 June 2025
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One essay felt stitched together from two minds—half of it was polished and rote, the other intimate and unfiltered.—
Hua Hsu,
New Yorker,
30 June 2025
Adjective
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And a slightly surreal, fantastical closing scene is puzzling and pretentious rather than provocative.—
Stephen Farber,
HollywoodReporter,
16 June 2025
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Folks in foodie online circles can be pretentious about American-Chinese food.—
Amy Drew Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
28 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“High-toned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/high-toned. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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