variants
also hifalutin
1
as in rhetoric
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 & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in arrogant
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"
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in superior
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in smug
self-consciously trying to present an appearance of grandeur or importance
"fine Southern cuisine" sounds a bit highfalutin for a barbecue shack
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of highfalutin
In the highfalutin world of fine art, labels matter.
—
Chadd Scott, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
This sounds so highfalutin, but whatever.
—Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 7 Jan. 2025
Newsom, for all his highfalutin rhetoric about championing all Californians, just can’t quit the gentry and the insiders who have made his career.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2024
The Corbet profile recently published in the New Yorker mentioned his highfalutin reading list, which includes László Krasznahorkai (the source of Béla Tarr’s Werckmeister Harmonies) and Oswald Spengler — taste that runs toward the dystopian and melancholic.
—Armond White, National Review, 31 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for highfalutin
Chadd Scott, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
This sounds so highfalutin, but whatever.
—Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 7 Jan. 2025
Newsom, for all his highfalutin rhetoric about championing all Californians, just can’t quit the gentry and the insiders who have made his career.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2024
The Corbet profile recently published in the New Yorker mentioned his highfalutin reading list, which includes László Krasznahorkai (the source of Béla Tarr’s Werckmeister Harmonies) and Oswald Spengler — taste that runs toward the dystopian and melancholic.
—Armond White, National Review, 31 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for highfalutin
Recent Examples of Synonyms for highfalutin
Adjective
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For example, when a man in his sixties talks about the same thing, he’s seen as calm and logical, but when a woman in her twenties talks about it, she’s seen as arrogant or trying to act mature.—
Billboard Japan,
Billboard,
15 May 2025
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By losing some of its arrogant charm, Doom has also lost the means to back it up.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
15 May 2025
Adjective
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The list is ranked alphabetically, so Tigers and Jayhawks won’t be able to fight over the superior college town this time.—
Joseph Hernandez,
Kansas City Star,
14 May 2025
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Did that pairing, which even takes the characters onto the local Navajo reservation, remind me in geography, time period and Indigenous underpinnings of AMC’s far superior Dark Winds?—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
13 May 2025
Adjective
-
To his critics, Jost’s smug humor felt noticeably anachronistic at a time when the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements were calling for a greater awareness of society’s deep inequalities, and for ostensibly liberal institutions to do better.—
Michael Tedder,
The Atlantic,
17 May 2025
-
The series has been characterized by smug antics in defeat.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
16 May 2025
Adjective
-
Despite rhetorical nods to sovereignty, the Trump administration has showed little interest in backing most independence movements, like those of the Kurds, throughout the Middle East, or the Catalans, in Spain.—
Ryan D. Griffiths,
Foreign Affairs,
20 May 2025
-
This kind of rhetorical whiplash doesn’t sit right.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
16 May 2025
Adjective
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That’s another important component of the foreclosures First Street tracked: areas where home prices are rising tend to avoid falling into distress.—
Andrea Riquier,
USA Today,
20 May 2025
-
Climate has therefore become an increasingly important consideration in assessing credit score risk, right along with a consumer's debt, income and collateral in the home, according to a new report from First Street, a climate risk assessment firm.—
Diana Olick,
CNBC,
19 May 2025
Adjective
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The narrative continues to evolve, due in no small part to proud descendants of Hiram, James and Wallace.—
Jacoba Urist,
Smithsonian Magazine,
15 May 2025
-
Jaylon is a proud alumnus of the University of Georgia.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
15 May 2025
Adjective
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Sure, there were some pretentious amateurs on the other side of the camera, but the most successful physique photographers were pros with recognizable styles.—
Vince Aletti,
New Yorker,
3 May 2025
-
Cage doesn’t get a toe in the tide before he’s given the heave-ho by a pretentious group of quasi-spiritual surfers called the Bay Boys.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2025
Adjective
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Meet my very good boys (pictured): Scooter is a nine-year-old cavapoo (cavalier King Charles spaniel and poodle mix).—
Kathy Barnes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
3 May 2025
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But economists warn that Americans would be losing clear benefits if the government was too cavalier about the dollar’s shedding its special status.—
Colby Smith,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Highfalutin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/highfalutin. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
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