hoity-toity 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of hoity-toitynext
as in arrogant
informal having or showing the insulting attitude of people who think that they are better, smarter, or more important than other people a bunch of hoity-toity snobs

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hoity-toity

2 of 2

noun

as in tomfoolery

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hoity-toity
Adjective
Yes, ping-pong … table tennis for you hoity-toity types. — Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 25 Dec. 2025 Alas, there is no end in sight to the tornado of hoity-toity chaos that is Martin Levy. — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2025 Not to be hoity-toity or artsy or whatever. — Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Oct. 2025
Noun
Most of the players immediately adopt exaggerated foppish courtier characters, complete with hoity-toity accents and hyperbolic graciousness. — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2026 The estate played the home of Rose Byrne’s hoity-toity Helen Harris III in Bridesmaids (the backyard is where Kristen Wiig’s Annie detonated mid-bridal-shower, cookie in hand). — David Hochman, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026 Ditch your hoity-toity cocktail reception to get down with some hometown talent and hang with a hip-hop heavyweight. — Mars Salazar, Austin American-Statesman, 12 Dec. 2024 From the hoity-toity BAFTAs to the jovial People’s Choice Awards, the events this past week were pretty varied. — Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 24 Feb. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoity-toity
  1. arrogant
  2. tomfoolery
  3. smug
  4. craziness
  5. important
  6. monkey business
  7. vain
  8. rigmarole
Adjective
  • The arrogant, brooding youth is gone almost entirely, and someone far more circumspect and humbled kneels before his older brother.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The Fight for the Soul of College Football, as the Hurricanes’ bold, brash and arrogant style transformed college football into something closer to theater.
    — Emile Nuh, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of arrogant
Noun
  • New assistant coach Alice Chilton is a blatant remodeling of Roy Kent — a brusque ex-soccer player who’s reluctant to engage with Ted’s tomfoolery or personal prodding — but Tanya Reynolds’ performance is equal turns wounded and witty.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Between their champagne problems and flirty tomfoolery, Anna disappears, initiating a futile rescue search.
    — Maggie Turner, Air Mail, 25 July 2026
Definition of tomfoolery
Adjective
  • Historian Sandgruber describes how Alois Hitler wrote his 1895 letters in a deeply smug, anti-clerical manner that overestimated his abilities.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 June 2026
  • Li at times plays Cola with a smug impetuousness that belies her naivety about this world to a satisfying degree.
    — Sabrina Reed, Forbes.com, 17 June 2026
Definition of smug
Noun
  • And there’s plenty more moving yet outrageous craziness to come.
    — Alex Ritman, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, 1982 Before the kids, the craziness and the reality show, the head-over-heels Brits tied the knot in Maui, Hawaii.
    — Kate Hogan, PEOPLE, 4 July 2026
Definition of craziness
Adjective
  • Ironically, the authority of doctors was supremely important to medieval people, even if the treatments seem barbaric and ineffective now.
    — T.M. Brown, CNN Money, 16 Aug. 2026
  • That choice was to keep him fresh for the more important league game on the weekend.
    — Thom Harris, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of important
Noun
  • But this was no monkey business April Fool’s joke.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 4 June 2026
  • Barnett was the second Mississippi resident to take the monkey business into their own hands.
    — Bracey Harris, NBC news, 5 Nov. 2025
Definition of monkey business
Adjective
  • Hoult’s Gilderoy Lockhart a notoriously vain, boastful and fame-obsessed wizard well versed in Memory Charms who is recruited by Dumbledore as Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 11 Aug. 2026
  • They are expected to become wiser but not louder, visible but not vain, accomplished but not demanding, and well-preserved but not provocative.
    — Debbie Millman, Time, 25 July 2026
Definition of vain
Noun
  • And the rigmarole of international travel is a very good reason.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 18 Apr. 2026
  • Alternatives were mooted, such as filming in England, but flying all the crew from Poland, and their associated visa requirements, would have added to the rigmarole.
    — Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2026
Definition of rigmarole

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Cite this Entry

“Hoity-toity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoity-toity. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

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