highfalutin
adjective
high·fa·lu·tin ˌhī-fə-ˈlü-tᵊn 
variants or less commonly hifalutin
1
: pretentious, fancy
highfalutin people
2
: expressed in or marked by the use of language that is elaborated or heightened by artificial or empty means : pompous
giving a highfalutin speech
Synonyms
- aureate
- florid
- flowery
- grandiloquent
- high-flown
- high-sounding
- magnific
- ornate
- purple
- rhetorical
- rhetoric
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
a highfalutin way of talking his highfalutin paean to the working class failed to win over a crowd that wanted to hear down-to-earth proposals for economic relief
Recent Examples on the Web Anything else is just highfalutin’, and granny would not approve. 
Amber Sutton, al, 29 June 2022 Philip thought Woody Allen was a phony pseudo-intellectual who had never finished a book in his life and made all these highfalutin allusions to Strindberg and whatnot. Jordan Reife, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2021 In less highfalutin language, increasing taxes on an activity leads to less of it; cutting taxes on an activity leads to more of it. Star Tribune, 30 Jan. 2021 But after some highfalutin remarks, Crowe makes a hard turn to a profane, confrontational rant pitching his movie about a homicidal maniac. Ryan Faughnder, chicagotribune.com, 22 Aug. 2020 American politicians, the pusillanimous and the mountebanks and even their opposites, used to be as highfalutin as Foghorn Leghorn with their gibes, which made politics fun for fans of Shakespeare, the Bible or obscure history. oregonlive, 31 Mar. 2020 What began as semi-legal — if highfalutin — graffiti has taken off in recent years, with local and even international artists being commissioned to turn once-seedy downtown walls into canvases for all manner of murals. Paul Abercrombie, Washington Post, 12 Feb. 2020 And even the most highfalutin fly rodder won’t argue against a hot fried bluegill with a side of onions and potatoes. T. Edward Nickens, Field & Stream, 12 Mar. 2020 The highfalutin words, plastered on the side of the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum, might ring hollow to those who know him largely as the most prominent of eight White Sox players who allegedly conspired with gamblers to lose a World Series. San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Oct. 2019 See More
Amber Sutton, al, 29 June 2022 Philip thought Woody Allen was a phony pseudo-intellectual who had never finished a book in his life and made all these highfalutin allusions to Strindberg and whatnot. Jordan Reife, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2021 In less highfalutin language, increasing taxes on an activity leads to less of it; cutting taxes on an activity leads to more of it. Star Tribune, 30 Jan. 2021 But after some highfalutin remarks, Crowe makes a hard turn to a profane, confrontational rant pitching his movie about a homicidal maniac. Ryan Faughnder, chicagotribune.com, 22 Aug. 2020 American politicians, the pusillanimous and the mountebanks and even their opposites, used to be as highfalutin as Foghorn Leghorn with their gibes, which made politics fun for fans of Shakespeare, the Bible or obscure history. oregonlive, 31 Mar. 2020 What began as semi-legal — if highfalutin — graffiti has taken off in recent years, with local and even international artists being commissioned to turn once-seedy downtown walls into canvases for all manner of murals. Paul Abercrombie, Washington Post, 12 Feb. 2020 And even the most highfalutin fly rodder won’t argue against a hot fried bluegill with a side of onions and potatoes. T. Edward Nickens, Field & Stream, 12 Mar. 2020 The highfalutin words, plastered on the side of the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum, might ring hollow to those who know him largely as the most prominent of eight White Sox players who allegedly conspired with gamblers to lose a World Series. San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Oct. 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
perhaps from high entry 2 + alteration of fluting, present participle of flute
First Known Use
1839, in the meaning defined at sense 1
highfalutin
adjective
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
Relevance
- rhetoric
- rhetorical
- ornate
- grandiloquent
- florid
- flowery
- high-flown
- eloquent
- purple
- high-sounding
- aureate
- pretentious
- grandiose
- pompous
- inflated
- excessive
- fancy-pants
- boastful
- bombastic
- stilted
- bloated
- magnific
- fulsome
- flattering
- bookish
- lofty
- affected
- learned
- inkhorn
- elevated
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- prosaic
- unpoetic
- simple
- plain
- direct
- straightforward
- unadorned
- lean
- spare
- bald
- stark
- unpretentious
- natural
- plainspoken
- matter-of-fact
- unaffected
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" Synonyms & Similar Words
- arrogant
- important
- superior
- pretentious
- presuming
- uppity
- supercilious
- bumptious
- cavalier
- pompous
- haughty
- imperious
- sniffy
- assumptive
- high-and-mighty
- presumptuous
- uppish
- lofty
- huffy
- chesty
- masterful
- smug
- toplofty
- overweening
- authoritarian
- dominant
- pontificating
- snooty
- high-handed
- domineering
- lordly
- huffish
- snobbish
- pontifical
- patronizing
- peremptory
- snobby
- toploftical
- proud
- condescending
- saucy
- high-hat
- impudent
- self-assertive
- vainglorious
- bombastic
- vain
- magisterial
- dominating
- bossy
- disdainful
- boastful
- self-asserting
- hubristic
- egocentric
- swaggering
- narcissistic
- cocky
- stiff-necked
- braggart
- impertinent
- conceited
- bragging
- blustery
- egotistic
- blusterous
- braggy
- egotistical
- egoistic
- immodest
- prideful
- egoistical
- stuck-up
- self-flattering
- complacent
- uninhibited
- brash
- self-complacent
- self-satisfied
- extroverted
- self-conceited
- self-centered
- self-promoting
- orgulous
- forward
- self-loving
- self-affected
- self-pleased
- unreserved
- self-applauding
- extraverted
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- modest
- humble
- unpretentious
- lowly
- timid
- diffident
- sheepish
- bashful
- shy
- mousy
- demure
- subdued
- deferential
- unassuming
- passive
- introverted
- unarrogant
- unobtrusive
- meek
- shrinking
- unassertive
- compliant
- mousey
- acquiescent
- unaggressive
- quiet
- overmodest
- submissive
- self-doubting
- yielding
- cringing
- reserved
- self-critical
- cowering
- retiring
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 Synonyms & Similar Words
- superior
- arrogant
- proud
- smug
- cavalier
- haughty
- lofty
- disdainful
- pretentious
- prideful
- snobbish
- uppity
- confident
- vainglorious
- lordly
- supercilious
- domineering
- pompous
- selfish
- conceited
- sniffy
- egotistic
- vain
- self-important
- swaggering
- condescending
- bombastic
- egoistic
- egotistical
- patronizing
- important
- saucy
- high-sounding
- overbearing
- complacent
- dominating
- impudent
- boastful
- cocky
- presumptuous
- stuck-up
- brassy
- self-contented
- self-satisfied
- overweening
- bold
- self-conceited
- cheeky
- overconfident
- egocentric
- audacious
- impertinent
- brash
- bloated
- peremptory
- cocksure
- imperious
- self-glorifying
- bossy
- self-assertive
- presuming
- magisterial
- presuming
- high-handed
- masterful
- sure
- forward
- self-assured
- self-centered
- self-confident
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- modest
- humble
- lowly
- unpretentious
- unassuming
- homely
- timid
- meek
- unpretending
- demure
- bashful
- shy
- diffident
- deferential
- retiring
- ingratiating
- unassertive
- compliant
- apologetic
- passive
- acquiescent
- submissive
- quiet
- yielding
- unobtrusive
- subdued
- self-doubting
- resigned
- reserved
- shrinking
- cringing
- cowering
4
as in pretentious
self-consciously trying to present an appearance of grandeur or importance "fine Southern cuisine" sounds a bit highfalutin for a barbecue shack Synonyms & Similar Words
- arrogant
- pretentious
- smug
- grandiose
- pompous
- ostentatious
- important
- cavalier
- high-minded
- la-di-da
- lah-di-dah
- superior
- la-de-da
- aggressive
- snippy
- affected
- lah-dee-dah
- vain
- grandiloquent
- uppity
- sure
- lah-de-dah
- proud
- vainglorious
- sententious
- bumptious
- snobbish
- hoity-toity
- snobby
- bold
- conceited
- supercilious
- rude
- imperious
- egotistic
- presumptuous
- haughty
- confident
- high-flown
- egoistic
- high-sounding
- high-toned
- complacent
- high-and-mighty
- self-important
- disdainful
- overweening
- prideful
- egotistical
- boastful
- impudent
- glitzy
- showy
- self-aggrandizing
- braggart
- bragging
- egoistical
- brassy
- gaudy
- airy
- cocky
- self-complacent
- flashy
- cheeky
- self-dramatizing
- self-satisfied
- insolent
- flamboyant
- high-handed
- self-glorifying
- self-conceited
- audacious
- garish
- lordly
- stuck-up
- self-obsessed
- self-centered
- self-promoting
- assertive
- flaunting
- high-hat
- self-pleased
- splashy
- self-assertive
- self-asserting
- forward
- self-assured
- self-confident
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- modest
- unpretentious
- humble
- unassuming
- lowly
- homely
- meek
- unassertive
- demure
- passive
- timid
- diffident
- quiet
- bashful
- retiring
- down-to-earth
- shy
- mousy
- reserved
- mousey
- overmodest
- saccharoidal
- saccharometer
- saccharometers
- saccharomyces
- saccharomyceses
- saccharomycesses
- saccharomycetaceae
- saccharomycetaceaes
- Saccharomycetales
- saccharomycete
- saccharomycetes
- saccharomycetic
- saccharoses
- saccharum
- saccharums
- sacci-
- Sacco
- sacco-
- Saccobranchiata
- saccoderm
- saccolabia
- opuluses
- opuntia
- opuntiae
- Opuntiales