highfalutin

or high·fa·lu·tin', hi·fa·lu·tin, hi·fa·lu·tin'

[ hahy-fuh-loot-n ]

/ ˌhaɪ fəˈlut n /

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See synonyms for highfalutin on Thesaurus.com

adjective Informal.

seeming or trying to seem superior, important, etc.; pompous; pretentious.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Also high·fa·lu·ting

[hahy-fuh-loo-ting, hahy-fuh-loot-n] /ˌhaɪ fəˈlu tɪŋ, ˌhaɪ fəˈlut n/ .

Origin of highfalutin

First recorded in 1830–40; high + falutin (perhaps originally flutin, variant of fluting, present participle of flute)

Words nearby highfalutin

Higher Still, higher-up, highest common factor, Highet, high explosive, highfalutin, high fashion, high fidelity, high finance, high-five, highflier

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

How to use highfalutin in a sentence

It’s like, I only get to make the highfalutin’ Rainer Maria Rilke references so long as I’m also making references to Homestar Runner.
How Gideon the Ninth author Tamsyn Muir queers the space opera|Constance Grady|February 5, 2021|Vox
Are you one of those highfalutin tipplers who will only drink single-malt?
Don't Be a Single-Malt Scotch Snob|Kayleigh Kulp|August 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Initially, we're meant to identify with Hart, who objects whenever Cohle's highfalutin Satre-isms get out of hand.
‘True Detective’ Review: You Have to Watch HBO’s Revolutionary Crime Classic|Andrew Romano|January 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He hated anything that was highfalutin, and he had a BS detector—his phrase again—that was unmatched in the business.
Jack Germond, a Reporter From Another Time|Eleanor Clift|August 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST

That phrase is maybe too highfalutin, but it's too famous to dispense with.
What Comes After the Tea Party?|David Frum|February 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Beyond Human Nature succeeds by delivering serious arguments that challenge the reader without seeming dense or highfalutin.
In Defense of Nurture: Jesse Prinz’s ‘Beyond Human Nature’|Robert Herritt|November 23, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He's the only one of these fellows I've tackled who didn't tell me a lot of highfalutin rot they wanted put into the article.
A Hoosier Chronicle|Meredith Nicholson
He hated the "highfalutin" bearing of these "furriners," who carried their chins aloft like masters of creation.
The Code of the Mountains|Charles Neville Buck
"An' you, Em, look more highfalutin' than a peacock," he replied.
The Emerald City of Oz|L. Frank Baum
Often he alluded to the opening for an American magazine, "not quite so highfalutin as the Atlantic nor so popular as Harper's."
Marse Henry (Vol. 1)|Henry Watterson
I stuck to my colors—that's a highfalutin way of putting it—and I've got to pay the penalty.
Nell, of Shorne Mills|Charles Garvice

British Dictionary definitions for highfalutin

highfalutin

hifalutin highfaluting

/ (ˌhaɪfəˈluːtɪn) /

adjective

informal pompous or pretentious

Word Origin for highfalutin

C19: from high + -falutin, perhaps variant of fluting, from flute

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

highfalutin

or high·fa·lu·tin', hi·fa·lu·tin, hi·fa·lu·tin'

Origin of highfalutin

Words nearby highfalutin

Words related to highfalutin

How to use highfalutin in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for highfalutin

hifalutin highfaluting

Word Origin for highfalutin