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.

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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

Haughtiness is an attitude and characteristic she’s cultivated in pictures such as “Working Girl” and “The Ice Storm,” and there certainly are elements of it in her breakout role, Ellen Ripley of the “Alien” movies.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 5, 2017

"Haughtiness," mused Ruth, "is merely a cloak to selfishness, or the want of a proper spirit of humanity."

From Other Things Being Equal by Wolf, Emma

Haughtiness, there is haughtiness when there is no tape and no billiard rooms and no need to be secured from wet.

From Geography and Plays by Stein, Gertrude

"Here lies James Haughtiness "Full of high notions about his abilities, or his knowledge, or his family, or his house, or his fortune, or his business, or his dogs, or something.

From The Authoritative Life of General William Booth by Railton, George S. (George Scott)

Haughtiness, and but too often ill-temper, threw a shade over a countenance, which when happy and animated was not only attractive then, but gave a fair promise of great beauty in after years.

From Home Influence A Tale for Mothers and Daughters by Aguilar, Grace