haughty

[ haw-tee ]

See synonyms for: haughty haughtiest haughtily haughtiness on Thesaurus.com

adjective,haugh·ti·er, haugh·ti·est.

disdainfully proud; scornfully arrogant; snobbish; supercilious: haughty aristocrats;a haughty salesclerk.
Archaic. lofty or noble; exalted.

Origin of haughty

First recorded in 1520–30; obsolete haught (spelling variant of late Middle English haute, from Middle French, from Latin altus “high,” with h-, from Germanic; compare Old High German hok “high”) + -y¹

synonym study For haughty

1. See proud.

Other words for haughty

1	lordly, disdainful, contemptuous

See synonyms for haughty on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for haughty

1	humble, unpretentious, unassuming

See antonyms for haughty on Thesaurus.com

Other words from haughty

haugh·ti·ly, adverb
haugh·ti·ness, noun
o·ver·haugh·ti·ly, adverb
o·ver·haugh·ty, adjective

Words Nearby haughty

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use haughty in a sentence

When the bankrupt Gawker shut its doors in 2016, it seemed unlikely that the site known for snarky opinions, celebrity gossip and haughty critiques would return.
‘It’s not going to be nice’: Leah Finnegan is rebuilding Gawker with her editorial vision front and center | Kayleigh Barber | September 28, 2021 | Digiday
Even curbside, the haughty look of this ride is intimidating.
Adventure cruisers | Joe Phillips | July 15, 2021 | Washington Blade
While he puts a good deal of blame on the former president, who, he writes, “could come off as lecturing and haughty,” Boehner also recognizes that he was often not in the best negotiating position.
John Boehner on how Congress became ‘Crazytown’ | Kathy Kiely | April 9, 2021 | Washington Post
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Why the World’s Armies Don’t Want U.S. Tech Anymore | Bill Sweetman | July 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
But haughty talk may not dissuade Italians from following their former leader.
The ‘Unbreakable’ Silvio Berlusconi | Barbie Latza Nadeau | January 31, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

But these are not times when we need to be uplifted and showered with haughty rhetoric.
Why I'm for Mitt | Justin Green | November 4, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
They have to rebut his lies, and they have to do it without sounding bitter or afraid or superior or haughty.
Michael Tomasky on Paul Ryan’s Convention Speech and His Web of Lies | Michael Tomasky | August 30, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
And not the least haughty or intimidating or acerbic, but helpful, constructive, and conscientious.
Putting Words in Gore Vidal’s Mouth—a Copywriter Recalls the 1982 Senate Campaign | Robert Chandler | August 6, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
But at the instant I caught a sight of my counterfeit presentment in a shop window, and veiled my haughty crest.
God and my Neighbour | Robert Blatchford
A flash of surprise and pleasure lit the fine eyes of the haughty beauty perched up there on the palace wall.
The Red Year | Louis Tracy
Under the long lashes of low lids a pair of eyes black and insolent set off the haughty lines of her scarlet lips.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini
He passed them by, and haughty tenor and swaggering basso again took heart of grace.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol | William J. Locke
This haughty Countess, by the way, has always had a great fascination for me, because she looks like a woman who "has a history."
Music-Study in Germany | Amy Fay

British Dictionary definitions for haughty

haughty

/ (ˈhɔːtɪ) /

adjective-tier or -tiest

having or showing arrogance
archaic noble or exalted

Origin of haughty

C16: from Old French haut, literally: lofty, from Latin altus high

Derived forms of haughty

haughtily, adverb
haughtiness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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