uppity
Americanadjective
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affecting an attitude of inflated self-esteem; haughty; snobbish.
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rebelliously self-assertive; not inclined to be tractable or deferential.
adjective
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not yielding easily to persuasion or control
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another word for uppish
Usage
More context on uppity Uppity means "haughty" and "snobbish"—an adjective for someone who puts on airs, someone who is self-important. But, this descriptor has a very racist past, used particularly to disparage Black people as "not remembering their place as inferior."Given this explicitly racist past, it is a good idea to cut down on using uppity. Read our next section for some wise alternatives. If knowing the history of uppity has got you reflecting on your word choices, this slideshow, "These Common Words Have Offensive Histories," discusses many other words whose place in your vocab you may want to reconsider.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of uppity
1875–80, probably up + -ity, extended form of -y 1; cf. pernickety
Explanation
People might describe you as uppity if you're bossy and stuck-up. An uppity waiter at a fancy restaurant might look visibly disgusted if you wear your oldest sneakers and your overalls to dinner. Someone who's a snob or who acts like a pompous know-it-all deserves to be described as uppity. It's an informal way to talk about a snooty or arrogant person, and it first appeared in African American English in the nineteenth century. The initial published use of uppity was in "Uncle Remus," a collection of African American folk stories adapted by a white journalist in 1881.
Vocabulary lists containing uppity
One Crazy Summer
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Fences
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Born a Crime
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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.
The man he persuaded to join the club when Rangers were getting uppity in 2016 and needed putting back in a box.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2025
The wealthiest and most international city in America, its grand mansions and comfortable houses would obviously be useful as a base for an invading army that was just beginning a campaign against uppity colonials.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 15, 2023
Second, play the adjoining 10-hole course, which isn’t as uppity as its country-club name — the Lakes at El Segundo — makes it sound.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2022
Others think he’s too uppity, so he is let go.
From New York Times ● Jan. 26, 2022
He never spoke about his education or teaching position while he was there, not wanting his employers or customers to call him uppity and take away his job.
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
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.
