Highfalutin — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Highfalutin (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

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"

   similar: aureate, florid, flowery, grandiloquent, high-flown, high-sounding, magnific, ornate, purple, rhetorical
   related: affected, bloated, fancy-pants, grandiose, inflated, pompous, pretentious, stilted, excessive, flattering, fulsome, boastful, bombastic, elevated, eloquent, lofty, bookish, inkhorn, learned
   near: 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"

   similar: arrogant, assumptive, bumptious, cavalier, chesty, haughty, 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, uppish, uppity
   related: 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, egotistic, 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, immodest
   opposite: humble, lowly, modest, unarrogant, unpretentious
   near: bashful, cowering, cringing, demure, diffident, introverted, mousy, overmodest, self-critical, self-doubting, sheepish, shrinking, shy, subdued, timid, acquiescent, compliant, deferential, meek, passive, submissive, unaggressive, unassertive, unassuming, unobtrusive, yielding, quiet, reserved, retiring

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"

   similar: disdainful, haughty, lofty, lordly, prideful, proud, superior
   related: complacent, conceited, egoistic, egotistic, 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, 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, masterful
   opposite: humble, lowly, modest
   near: 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, unobtrusive

4. self-consciously trying to present an appearance of grandeur or importance

   "fine Southern cuisine sounds a bit highfalutin for a barbecue shack"

   similar: affected, grandiose, high-minded, la-di-da, ostentatious, pompous, pretentious, snippy
   related: airy, grandiloquent, high-flown, high-sounding, high-toned, sententious, arrogant, bumptious, complacent, conceited, egoistic, egotistic, 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, splashy
   opposite: modest, unpretentious
   near: demure, down-to-earth, homely, humble, lowly, meek, retiring, unassertive, unassuming, bashful, diffident, mousy, overmodest, passive, quiet, reserved, shy, timid