haughty
Americanadjective
-
disdainfully proud; scornfully arrogant; snobbish; supercilious: a haughty salesclerk.
haughty aristocrats;
a haughty salesclerk.
- Synonyms:
- contemptuous, disdainful, lordly
- Antonyms:
- unassuming, unpretentious, humble
-
Archaic. lofty or noble; exalted.
adjective
-
having or showing arrogance
-
archaic noble or exalted
Related Words
See proud.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
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”) + -y 1
Explanation
Someone who is haughty is arrogant and full of pride. When you're haughty, you have a big attitude and act like you're better than other people. A haughty person acts superior and looks down on others. Haughty people are disdainful, overbearing, prideful, swaggering, and obnoxious. Acting amazed that others haven't heard of a hot new band is haughty. Speaking in a cocky or superior way is haughty. The word even sounds a little like its meaning: it's hard to say haughty without sounding like you have an attitude. If you're acting like others are beneath you, you're being haughty.
Vocabulary lists containing haughty
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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.
Her one condition, delivered in the haughty tone of an offended aristocrat, was that they sign a note guaranteeing repayment for the damage.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 19, 2025
In Ava Pickett's fresh adaptation, being staged at London's Rose Theatre, Emma Woodhouse still has all the trademark traits of our beloved original heroine – she's clever, quick-witted, meddling, haughty and occasionally cruel.
From BBC • Sep. 20, 2025
Part of the problem may be Gorsuch’s haughty and condescending attitude toward those who disagree with him.
From Slate • Jun. 23, 2025
The air of prestige and haughty pretension that surrounds even the mere mention of the Cannes Film Festival might not conjure the words “shark movie” in your mind.
From Salon • Jun. 8, 2025
From disappointment, I gradually ascended the emotional ladder to haughty indignation, and finally to that state of stubbornness where the mind is locked like the jaws of an enraged bulldog.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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.
