loftily

American  

[lawf-tuh-lee, lof-] / ˈlɔf tə li, ˈlɒf- /

adverb

1. high in the air; in an imposing or towering manner.

   The speaker raised his fist loftily skywards as he spoke, drawing forth cheers from the crowd.

   The palace stands loftily at an imposing 2,000 ft above sea level, with an unhindered birds-eye view of a 13th century fort.

2. in a way that is elevated in rank, style, tone, or sentiment.

   The editorial begins loftily with a quote from the Roman author Horace.

3. in an arrogant or condescendingly superior way.

   I'd be more impressed if the official commissioned a few economic reports, rather than loftily dismissing the arguments of his challengers as “nonsense.”

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Other Word Forms

• overloftily
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of loftily

lofty ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

On March 25, 1893, 3,500 fans — some in the bleachers, some in grandstands, and 200 seated loftily in their own carriages — rang cowbells and blew horns to herald the entrance of the Angels.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2023

The president - a wealthy businessman and former liberation struggle icon, once backed by Nelson Mandela to succeed him - loftily declared that he was innocent.

From BBC • Dec. 2, 2022

When his popularity underwent the second-quickest plunge in French presidential history, one of his advisers, asked what mistakes the government had made, answered loftily: “We were probably too intelligent, too subtle.”

From Washington Post • Apr. 20, 2022

He has raised expectations so loftily, even saying publicly that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for merely helping to bring the summit about.

From Slate • May 17, 2018

Lyra imagined the Chaplain speaking loftily, listening to the star daemons’ remarks, and then nodding judiciously or shaking his head in regret.

From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman