haughtiness

American  

[haw-tee-nis] / ˈhɔ ti nɪs /

noun

1. scornful pride, snobbishness, or arrogance.

   I was accused of having an air of superiority, of haughtiness, of indifference or condescension to others.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overhaughtiness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of haughtiness

haughty ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Explanation

If you are shy and have a hard time talking to others, people might wrongly interpret your quietness as haughtiness. Haughtiness is thinking a lot of yourself and not much of others. The word haughtiness originally comes from the Old French adjective haut meaning "high" and later developed to mean having a high estimation of yourself. When you think of the word, imagine a Queen riding by on a horse, chin upturned, not paying any mind to her subjects below. Her Highness might as well be called Her Haughtiness up there.

Example Sentences

He began as a William Morris socialist but quickly became suspicious of any sweeping social panacea, to the point of intellectual haughtiness.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

Nick went to Princeton and graduated with all of the Ivy League haughtiness, if not the GPA or success, associated with such a diploma.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2025

However, Bonne Maman doesn't come with the haughtiness that is sometimes associated with French fine dining; it's literally marketed as the kind of food that would be made by a grandmother in a French farmhouse.

From Salon • Jan. 30, 2023

He’s also learned how to deploy — and puncture — Thor’s inborn pomposity, although by the time the final credits rolled in “Ragnarok” that haughtiness had turned into shtick.

From New York Times • Jul. 7, 2022

But Julius had seen her at other times, out in her carriage, Boots at her side, waving and smiling to the admiring crowd, and knew that this apparent haughtiness hid a quaking heart.

From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks