puffed-up
Americanadjective
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feeling self-important; arrogant; pompous.
-
swollen; puffy.
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.
Claudius comes across as a sinister puffed-up phony.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2026
One woman sits grinning idiotically at a huge, puffed-up pillow on her lap.
From Slate • Jul. 21, 2025
"In fact, we look like we're peacefully and freely performing a big, fat show to a puffed-up and hateful power. The message is clear: they have no power over us!"
From BBC • Jun. 28, 2025
As a result, the exoplanet has a "puffed-up" atmosphere that is especially ideal for analysis.
From Science Daily • Jan. 9, 2024
I stand there awhile fingering the puffed-up gold letters at the top of the page and reading the letter over and over again.
From "The Skin I'm In" by Sharon G. Flake
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.
