hauteur
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of hauteur
1620–30; < French, equivalent to haut high ( see haughty) + -eur -or 1
Explanation
Hauteur is an obnoxious display of overbearing pride and superiority over others. Rather than showing humility and respect, a bad king might act with hauteur toward his subjects. The noun hauteur stems from the Old English word haute, meaning "high in one's own estimation." Because it often develops as a result of power over others (or perceived power), it's often associated with royalty or politically powerful figures who throughout history have become vain and arrogant because of their position: A high-powered CEO might show hauteur toward the newly hired assistant; a professional athlete's hauteur may result from the media spotlight and multi-million-dollar contracts.
Vocabulary lists containing hauteur
The Great Gatsby
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "H"
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Pride and Prejudice
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Endowed with a formidable hauteur, her Jocasta acts graciously, but with an unmistakable note of condescension.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 13, 2025
“Whatever nomenclature you prefer,” Elizabeth offers, accentuating her speech with oozing hauteur.
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2024
As a character, Miss Liza Jane combines the hauteur of opera diva Jessye Norman and the sermonizing wisdom of Maya Angelou.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 29, 2023
Credit the haute modness to the costume designer Daniel Cruden but her hauteur to the screenwriter Akela Cooper, who has a way with melodrama.
From New York Times • Jan. 19, 2023
Heqet snatched up a bunch of grapes and held them across his throat like a necklace, meanwhile assuming an expression of such conceited hauteur that both Ranofer and the Ancient burst out laughing.
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
